wwvertd^s*^ 


THE  OLD  EAST 
INDIAMEN 


THE    OLD    EAST 
INDIAMEN 


BY 


E.   KEBLE  CHATTERTON 

Lieutenant  R,N,V,R, 

Author  of"  Sailing  Ships  and  their  Story" 

"  Down  Channel  in  the  '  VivetteJ  " 
"  Through  Holland  in  the  '  Vivette,'  " 
"  Ships  and  Ways  of  Other  Days"  etc. 


ILLUSTRATED 


PHILADELPHIA 

J.   B.   LIPPINCOTT   COMPANY 

LONDON:  T.  WERNER  LAURIE  LTD. 


EfeCA 


HENRY  MORSE 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.  INTRODUCTION      .....  i 

II.  THE  MAGNETIC  EAST      .  .  .  .10 

III.  THE  LURE  OF  NATIONS  .  .  .  .18 

IV.  THE  ROUTE  TO  THE  EAST          .  .  .31 
V.  THE  FIRST  EAST  INDIA  COMPANY          .  .        46 

VI.  CAPTAIN  LANCASTER  DISTINGUISHES  HIMSELF   .        64 

VII.  THE  BUILDING  OF  THE  COMPANY'S  SHIPS          .         77 

VIII.  PERILS  AND  ADVENTURES  .  .  .91 

IX.  SHIPS  AND  TRADE  ...  .  .       106 

X.  FREIGHTING  THE  EAST  INDIAMEN  .  .124 

XI.  EAST  INDIAMEN  AND  THE  ROYAL  NAVY  .       138 

XII.  THE  WAY  THEY  HAD  IN  THE  COMPANY'S  SERVICE       152 

XIII.  THE  EAST  INDIAMEN'S  ENEMIES  .  .166 

XIV.  SHIPS  AND  MEN  .....       180 
XV.  AT  SEA  IN  THE  EAST  INDIAMEN  .  .198 

XVI.  CONDITIONS  OF  SERVICE  .  .  .  .226 

XVII.  WAYS  AND  MEANS  ....       248 

XVIII.  LIFE  ON  BOARD    .....       265 

XIX.  THE  COMPANY'S  NAVAL  SERVICE  281 


vi  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

XX.  OFFENCE  AND  DEFENCE  .            .            .  .291 

XXI.  THE      "  WARREN      HASTINGS  "      AND  THE 

"  PI£MONTAISE  "           ....  305 

XXII.  PIRATES  AND  FRENCH  FRIGATES             .  .  316 

XXIII.  THE  LAST  OF  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN  .  329 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

The  East  Indiaman  Thomas  Coutts        .  .  .    Frontispiece 

FACING  PAGE 

The  East  India  House      ....  .4 

The  Hon.  East  India  Co.'s  Ship  General  Goddard with  H.M.S. 
Sceptre  and  Swallow  capturing  Dutch  East  Indiamen 
off  St  Helena  ...  .  .         12 

The  Essex  East  Indiaman  at  anchor  in  Bombay  Harbour        .        24 
The  East  Indiaman  Kent ......        42 

Dutch  East  Indiamen        ......         54 

The  launch  of  the  Hon.  East  India  Co.'s  Ship  Edinburgh         .        78 
India  House,  the  Sale  Room         .....        88 

The  Hon.  East  India  Co.'s  Ship  Bridgewater  entering  Madras 

Roads  .......        96 

The  Halsewell  East  Indiaman      .  .  .  .  .       104 

The  Seringapatam  East  Indiaman  .  .  .  .120 

A  Barque  Free-trader  in  the  London  Docks       .  .  .130 

The  Press-Gang  at  Work  ......       140 

The  East  Indiaman  Swallow       .  .  .  .  .182 

Commodore  Sir  Nathaniel  Dance  ....       190 

Repulse  of  Admiral  Linois  by  the  China  Fleet  under   Com- 
modore Sir  Nathaniel  Dance         ....       196 

A  view  of  the  East  India  Docks  in  the  early  igth  Century        .       210 
The  Thames  East  Indiaman          .  .  .  .  .218 

The  Windham  East  Indiaman  sailing  from  St  Helena  .  .       224 

The  Jessie  and  Eliza  Jane  in  Table  Bay,  1829     .  .  .       236 

The  Alfred  East  Indiaman  .....       242 

The  East  Indiaman  Cruiser  Panther  in  Suez  Harbour  .  .       250 

The  East  Indiaman  Triton,  rough  sketch  of  stern          .  .       256 

The  East  Indiaman  Earl  Balcarres         ....       262 

Deck  scene  of  the  East  Indiaman  Triton  .  .  .      266 

The  West  Indiaman  Thetis  -.  272 

The  Kent  East  Indiaman  on  fire  in  the  Bay  of  Biscay  .  .      276 

The  Cambria  brig  receiving  the  last  boat-load  from  the  Kent  .      282 
The  Vernon  East  Indiaman          .....       294 

The  Sibella  East  Indiaman  .....      306 

The  East  Indiaman  Queen  .  .  .  .  .318 

The  East  Indiaman  Malabar,  built  of  wood  in  1860       .  .      330 

The  Blenheim  East  Indiaman      .....      340 

vii 


PREFACE 

THE  author  desires  to  acknowledge  the  courtesy  of 
Messrs  T.  H.  Parker  Brothers  of  Whitcomb  Street, 
W.C.,  for  allowing  him  to  reproduce  the  illus- 
trations mentioned  on  many  of  the  pages  of  this 
book ;  as  also  the  P.  &  O.  Steam  Navigation 
Company  for  permission  to  reproduce  the  old 
painting  of  the  Swallow. 

Owing  to  the  fact  that  the  author  is  now  away 
at  sea  serving  under  the  White  Ensign,  it  is  hoped 
that  this  may  be  deemed  a  sufficient  apology  for 
any  errata  which  may  have  been  allowed  to  creep 
into  the  text. 


Vlll 


THE    OLD   EAST    INDIAMEN 

CHAPTER    I 

INTRODUCTION 

IN  this  volume  I  have  to  invite  the  reader  to  con- 
sider a  special  epoch  of  the  world's  progress,  in 
which  the  sailing  ship  not  only  revolutionised  British 
trade  but  laid  the  foundations  of,  and  almost  com- 
pleted, that  imposing  structure  which  is  to-day 
represented  by  the  Indian  Empire.  It  is  a  period 
brimful  of  romance,  of  adventures,  travel  and  the 
exciting  pursuit  after  wealth.  It  is  a  theme  which, 
for  all  its  deeply  human  aspect,  is  one  for  ever 
dominated  by  a  grandeur  and  irresistible  destiny. 

With  all  its  failings,  the  East  India  Company  still 
remains  in  history  as  the  most  amazingly  powerful 
trading  concern  which  the  world  has  ever  seen.  Like' 
many  other  big  propositions  it  began  in  a  small  way  : 
but  it  acquired  for  us  that  vast  continent  which  is 
the  envy  of  all  the  great  powers  of  the  world  to-day. 
And  it  is  important  and  necessary  to  remember 
always  that  we  owe  this  in  the  first  place  to  the  con- 
summate courage,  patience,  skill  and  long-suffering 
of  that  race  of  beings,  the  intrepid  seamen,  who  have 
never  yet  received  their  due  from  the  landsmen 
whom  they  have  made  rich  and  comfortable. 

Among  the  Harleian  MSS.  there  is  a  delightful 


2  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

phrase  written  by  a  seventeenth-century  writer,  in 
which,  treating  of  matters  that  are  not  immediately 
concerned  with  the  present  subject,  he  remarks  very 
quaintly  that  "  the  first  article  of  an  Englishman's 
Politicall  Creed  must  be  that  he  believeth  in  ye  Sea 
etc.  Without  that  there  needeth  no  general  Council 
to  pronounce  him  uncapable  of  Salvation."  This 
somewhat  sweeping  statement  none  the  less  aptly 
sums  up  the  whole  matter  of  our  colonisation  and 
overseas  development.  The  entire  glamour  of  the 
Elizabethan  period,  marked  as  it  unfortunately  is 
with  many  deplorable  errors,  is  derived  from  the  sea. 
With  the  appreciation  of  what  could  be  attained  by 
a  combination  of  stout  ships,  sturdy  seamen,  naviga- 
tion, seamanship,  gunnery  and  high  hopes  that 
refused  persistently  to  be  daunted,  the  most  far- 
sighted  began  to  see  that  success  was  for  them. 
Honours,  wealth,  the  founding  of  families  that 
should  treasure  their  names  in  future  generations, 
the  acquisition  of  fine  estates  and  the  building  of 
large  houses  with  luxuries  that  exceeded  the  Tudor 
pattern — these  were  the  pictures  which  were  con- 
jured up  in  the  imaginations  of  those  who  vested 
their  fortunes  and  often  their  lives  in  these  ocean 
voyages.  The  call  of  the  sea  had  in  England  fallen 
mostly  on  deaf  ears  until  the  late  sixteenth  century. 
It  is  only  because  there  were  some  who  listened  to 
it,  obeyed,  and  presently  led  others  to  do  as  they 
had  done,  that  the  British  Empire  has  been  built 
up  at  all. 

Our  task,  however,  is  to  treat  of  one  particular 
way  in  which  that  call  has  influenced  the  minds  and 
activities  of  men.  We  are  to  see  how  that,  if  it 
summoned  some  across  the  Atlantic  to  the  Spanish 


INTRODUCTION  3 

Main,  it  sent  others  out  to  the  Orient,  yet  always 
with  the  same  object  of  acquiring  wealth,  establish- 
ing trade  with  strange  peoples,  and  incidentally 
affording  a  fine  opportunity  for  those  of  an  adven- 
turous spirit  who  were  unable  any  longer  to  endure 
the  cramped  and  confined  limitations  of  the  neigh- 
bourhood in  which  they  had  been  born  and  bred. 
And  though,  as  we  proceed  with  our  story,  we  shall 
be  compelled  to  watch  the  gradual  growth  and  the 
vicissitudes  of  the  East  Indian  companies,  yet  our 
object  is  to  obtain  a  clear  knowledge  not  so  much 
of  the  latter  as  of  the  ships  which  they  employed, 
the  manner  in  which  they  were  built,  sailed,  navi- 
gated and  fought.  When  we  speak  of  the  "  Old 
East  Indiamen  "  we  mean  of  course  the  ships  which 
used  to  carry  the  trade  between  India  and  Europe. 
And  inasmuch  as  this  trade  was,  till  well  on  into  the 
nineteenth  century,  the  valuable  and  exclusive  mono- 
poly of  the  East  India  Company,  carefully  guarded 
against  any  interlopers,  our  consideration  is  prac- 
tically that  of  the  Company's  ships.  After  the 
Company  lost  their  monopoly  to  India,  their  ships 
still  possessed  the  monopoly  of  trading  with  China 
until  the  year  1833.  After  that  date  the  Company 
sold  the  last  of  their  fleet  which  had  made  them 
famous  as  a  great  commercial  and  political  concern. 
In  their  place  a  number  of  new  private  firms  sprang 
up,  who  bought  the  old  ships  from  the  East  India 
Company,  and  even  built  new  ones  for  the  trade. 
These  were  very  fine  craft  and  acted  as  links  between 
England  and  the  East  for  a  few  years  longer,  reach- 
ing their  greatest  success  between  the  years  1850  and 
1870.  But  the  opening  of  the  Suez  Canal  and  the 
enterprise  of  steamships  sealed  their  fate,  so  that 


4  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

instead  of  the  wealth  which  was  obtained  (during 
those  few  years  by  carrying  cargoes  of  rich  merchan- 
dise between  the  East  and  the  West,  and  transport- 
ing army  officers,  troops  and  private  passengers, 
there  was  little  or  no  money  to  be  made  by  going 
round  the  Cape.  Thus  the  last  of  the  Indiamen 
sailing  ships  passed  away — became  coal-hulks,  were 
broken  up ;  or,  changing  their  name  and  nationality, 
sailed  under  a  Scandinavian  flag. 

The  East  India  Company  rose  from  being  a 
private  venture  of  a  few  enterprising  merchants  to 
become  a  gigantic  corporation  of  immense  political 
power,  with  its  own  governors,  its  own  cavalry, 
artillery  and  infantry,  its  own  navy,  and  yet  with  its 
trade-monopoly  and  its  unsurpassed  "  regular  ser- 
vice "  of  merchantmen.  The  latter  were  the  largest, 
the  best  built,  and  the  most  powerfully  armed  vessels 
in  the  world,  with  the  exception  only  of  some  war- 
ships. They  were,  so  to  speak,  the  crack  liners  of 
the  day,  but  they  were  a  great  deal  more  besides. 
Their  officers  were  the  finest  navigators  afloat,  their 
seamen  were  at  times  as  able  as  any  of  the  crews 
in  the  Royal  Navy,  and  in  time  of  war  the  Govern- 
ment showed  how  much  it  coveted  them  by  impress- 
ing them  into  its  service,  to  the  great  chagrin  and 
inconvenience  of  the  East  India  Company,  as  we 
shall  see  later  on  in  our  story. 

From  being  at  first  a  small  trading  concern  with  a 
handful  of  factors  and  an  occasional  factory  planted 
in  the  East  in  solitary  places,  the  Company  pro- 
gressed till  it  had  its  own  civil  service  with  its  train- 
ing college  in  England  for  the  cadets  aspiring  to 
be  sent  out  to  the  East.  It  is  due  to  the  Company 
not  only  that  India  is  now  under  the  British  flag, 


INTRODUCTION  5 

but  that  the  wealth  of  our  country  has  been  largely 
increased  and  a  new  outlet  was  found  for  our  manu- 
factures. The  factors  who  went  out  in  the  first 
Indiamen  sailing  ships  sowed  the  seed  which  to-day 
we  now  reap.  The  commanders  of  these  vessels 
made  their  "  plots  "  (charts)  and  obtained  by  bitter 
experience  the  details  which  provided  the  first  sail- 
ing directions.  They  were  at  once  explorers,  traders, 
fighters,  surveyors.  The  conditions  under  which 
they  voyaged  were  hard  enough,  as  we  shall  see  : 
and  the  loss  of  human  life  was  a  high  price  at  which 
all  this  material  trade-success  was  obtained.  Not- 
withstanding all  the  quarrels,  the  jealousies,  the 
murders,  the  deceits,  the  misrule  and  corruption,  the 
bribery  and  extortion  which  stain  the  activities  of 
the  East  India  Company,  yet  during  its  existence  it 
raised  the  condition  of  the  natives  from  the  lowest 
disorder  and  degradation :  and  if  the  Company 
found  it  not  easy  to  separate  its  commercial  from 
its  political  aspirations,  yet  the  British  Government 
in  turn  found  it  very  convenient  on  occasions  when 
this  corporation's  funds  could  be  squeezed,  its  men 
impressed;  or  even  its  ships  employed  for  guarding 
the  coasts  of  England  or  transporting  troops  out  to 
India. 

It  is  difficult  to  realise  all  that  the  East  India 
Company  stood  for.  It  comprised  under  its  head  a 
large  shipping  line  with  many  of  the  essential  attri- 
butes of  a  ruling  nation,  and  its  merchant  ships  not 
only  opened  up  to  our  traders  India,  but  Japan  and 
China  as  well.  And  bear  in  mind  that  the  old  East 
Indiamen  set  forth  on  their  voyages  not  with  the 
same  light  hearts  that  their  modern  successors,  the 
steamships  of  the  P.  &  O.  line,  begin  their  journey. 


6  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

Before  the  East  India  Company's  ships  got  to  their 
destination,  they  had  to  sail  right  away  round  the 
Cape  of  Good  Hope  and  then  across  the  Indian 
Ocean,  having  no  telegraphic  communication  with 
the  world,  and  with  none  of  the  comforts  of  a  modern 
liner — no  preserved  foods,  no  iced  drinks  or  any- 
thing of  that  sort.  Any  moment  they  were  liable 
to  be  plunged  into  an  engagement :  if  not  with  the 
French  or  Dutch  men-of-war,  then  with  roving 
privateers  or  well-armed  pirate  ships  manned  by 
some  of  the  most  redoubtable  rascals  of  the  time, 
who  stopped  at  no  slaughter  or  brutality.  There 
were  the  perils,  too,  of  storms,  and  of  other  forms  of 
shipwreck,  and  the  almost  monotonous  safety  of  the 
modern  liner  was  a  thing  that  did  not  exist.  Later 
on  we  shall  see  in  what  difficulties  some  of  these 
ships  became  involved.  It  was  because  they  were 
ever  expectant  of  a  fight  that  they  were  run  prac- 
tically naval  fashion.  They  were  heavily  armed 
with  guns,  they  had  their  special  code  of  signals 
for  day  and  night,  they  carried  their  gunners,  who 
were  well  drilled  and  always  prepared  to  fight :  and 
we  shall  see  more  than  one  instance  where  these 
merchant  ships  were  far  too  much  for  a  French 
admiral  and  his  squadron. 

These  East  Indiamen  sailing  ships  were  really 
wonderful  for  what  they  did,  the  millions  of  miles 
over  which  they  sailed,  the  millions  of  pounds5  worth 
of  goods  which  they  carried  out  and  home  :  and 
this  not  merely  for  one  generation,  but  for  two  and 
a  half  centuries.  It  is  really  surprising  that  such  a 
unique  monopoly  should  have  been  enjoyed  for  all 
this  time,  and  that  other  ships  should  have  been 
(with  the  exceptions  we  shall  presently  note)  kept  out 


INTRODUCTION  7 

of  this  benefit.  The  result  was  that  an  East  Indiaman 
was  spoken  of  with  just  as  much  respect  as  a  man-of- 
war.  She  was  built  regardless  of  cost  and  kept  in 
the  best  of  conditions;  and  all  the  other  merchant- 
men in  the  seven  seas  could  not  rival  her  for  strength, 
beauty  and  equipment.  It  was  a  golden  age,  a 
glorious  age  :  an  epoch  in  which  British  seamanhood, 
British  shipbuilding  in  wood,  were  capable  of  being 
improved  upon  only  by  the  clipper  ships  that  fol- 
lowed for  a  brief  interval.  They  earned  handsome 
dividends  for  the  Company,  they  were  always  full 
of  passengers,  troops  and  valuable  freight;  and, 
although  they  were  not  as  fine-lined  as  the  clipper 
ships,  yet  they  made  some  astounding  passages. 
They  carried  crews  that  in  number  and  quality  would 
make  the  heart  of  a  modern  Scandinavian  skipper 
break  with  envy.  The  result  was  that  they  were 
excellently  handled  and  could  carry  on  in  a  breeze 
till  the  last  minute,  when  sail  could  be  taken  in 
smartly  with  the  minimum  of  warning. 

The  country  fully  appreciated  how  invaluable  was 
this  East  India  service,  and  certainly  no  merchant- 
men were  ever  so  regulated  and  controlled  by  Acts 
of  Parliament.  To-day  you  never  hear  of  any 
merchant  skipper  buying  or  selling  his  command, 
nor  retiring  after  a  very  few  voyages  with  a  nice 
little  fortune  for  the  rest  of  his  life.  But  these  things 
occurred  in  the  old  East  Indiamen,  when  com- 
manders received  even  knighthoods  and  a  good 
income  settled  on  them,  for  life,  as  a  reward  of  their 
gallantry.  Those  were  indeed  the  palmy  days  of 
the  merchant  service,  and  many  an  ill-paid  mercan- 
tile officer  to-day,  wearied  of  receiving  owners' 
complaints  and  no  thanks,  must  regret  that  his  lot 


8  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

was  not  to  be  serving  with  the  East  India 
Company. 

When  we  consider  the  two  important  centuries  and 
and  a  half,  during  which  the  East  Indiamen  ships 
were  making  history  and  trade  for  our  country,  help- 
ing in  the  most  important  manner  to  build  up  our 
Indian  Empire,  fighting  the  Portuguese,  the  Dutch 
and  the  French,  privateers  and  pirates,  and  generally 
opening  up  the  countries  of  the  East,  it  is  to  me 
perfectly  extraordinary  that  the  history  of  these  ships 
has  never  yet  been  written.  I  have  searched  in  vain 
in  our  great  national  libraries — in  the  British 
Museum,  the  India  Office,  the  Admiralty  and  else- 
where— but  I  have  not  been  able  to  find  one  volume 
dealing  exclusively  with  these  craft.  In  an  age  that 
sees  no  end  to  the  making  of  books  there  is  therefore 
need  for  a  volume  that  should  long  since  have  been 
written.  Many  of  the  story-books  of  our  boyhood 
begin  with  the  hero  leaving  England  in  an  East 
Indiaman  :  but  they  say  little  or  nothing  as  to  how 
she  was  rigged,  how  she  was  manned,  and  what 
uniforms  her  officers  wore. 

I  feel,  then,  that  I  may  with  confidence  ask  the 
reader  who  loves  ships  for  themselves,  or  is  fasci- 
nated by  history,  or  is  specially  interested  in  the  rise 
of  our  Indian  Empire,  to  follow  me  in  the  following 
pages  while  the  story  of  these  old  East  Indiamen  is 
narrated.  In  a  little  while  we  shall  have  passed  entirely 
from  the  last  of  all  surviving  ocean-going  sailing 
ships,  but  during  the  whole  of  their  period  none  have 
left  their  mark  so  significantly  on  past  and  present 
affairs  as  the  old  East  Indiamen.  I  can  guarantee 
that  while  pursuing  this  story  the  reader  will  find 
much  that  will  interest  and  even  surprise  him  :  but 


INTRODUCTION  9 

above  all  will  be  seen  triumphant  the  true  grit  and 
pluck  which  have  ever  been  the  attributes  of  our 
national  sailormen — the  determination  to  carry  out, 
in  spite  of  all  costs  and  hardships,  the  serious  task 
imposed  on  them  of  getting  the  ship  safely  to  port 
with  all  her  valuable  lives,  and  her  rich  cargoes, 
regardless  of  weather,  pirates,  privateers  and  the 
enemies  of  the  nation  whose  flag  they  flew.  And 
this  fine  spirit  will  be  found  to  be  confined  to  no 
special  century  nor  to  any  particular  ship  :  but  rather 
to  pervade  the  whole  of  the  East  India  Company's 
merchant  service.  The  days  of  such  a  monopoly 
as  this  corporation's  trade  and  shipping  are  much 
more  distant  even  than  they  seem  in  actual  years  : 
but  happily  it  is  our  proud  boast,  as  year  after  year 
demonstrates,  that  those  qualities,  which  composed 
the  magnificent  seamanhood  of  the  crews  of  these 
vessels,  are  no  less  existent  and  flourishing  to-day  in 
the  other  ships  under  the  British  flag  that  venture 
north,  south,  east  and  west.  The  only  main  differ- 
ence is  this  : — Yesterday  the  sailor  had  a  hundred 
chances,  for  every  one  opportunity  which  is  afforded 
to-day  to  the  sons  of  the  sea,  of  showing  that  the 
grand,  undying  desire  to  do  the  right  thing  in  the 
time  of  crisis  is  one  of  the  greatest  assets  of  our 
nation. 


CHAPTER    II 

THE   MAGNETIC   EAST 

WITHIN  human  experience  it  is  a  safe  maxim,  that  if 
you  keep  on  continuously  thinking  and  longing  for 
a  certain  object  you  are  almost  sure,  eventually,  to 
obtain  that  which  you  desire. 

There  is  scarcely  any  better  instance  of  this  on 
a  large  scale  than  the  longing  to  find  a  route  to 
India  by  sea,  and  the  attainment  of  this  only  after 
long  years  and  years.  As  a  study  of  perseverance 
it  is  remarkable  :  but  the  inspiration  of  the  whole 
project  was  to  get  at  the  world's  great  treasure-house, 
to  find  the  way  thereto  and  then  unlock  its  doors. 
For  centuries  there  had  been  trade  routes  between 
Europe  and  India  overland.  But  the  establishment 
of  the  Ottoman  Empire  in  the  fifteenth  century 
placed  a  barrier  across  these  routes.  This  suggested 
that  there  might  possibly  be — there  was  most  prob- 
ably— a  route  via  the  sea,  and  this  would  have  the 
advantage  of  an  easier  method  of  transportation.  It 
is  very  curious  how  throughout  the  ages  a  vague 
tradition  survives  and  lingers  on  from  century  to 
century,  finally  to  decide  men's  minds  on  some 
momentous  matter.  It  is  not  quite  a  literal  inspira- 
tion, for  often  enough  these  ancient  traditions  had  a 
modicum  of  truth  therein  contained. 

10 


THE  MAGNETIC  EAST  11 

In  my  last  book,  "  Ships  and  Ways  of  Other 
Days,"  I  gave  an  instance  of  this  which  was  remark- 
able enough  to  bear  repeating.  A  reproduction  was 
given  of  a  fourteenth-century  portolano,  or  chart,  in 
which  the  shape  of  Southern  Africa  was  seen  to  be 
extraordinarily  accurate  :  and  this,  notwithstanding 
that  it  was  sketched  one  hundred  and  thirty-five 
years  before  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  had  been 
doubled.  Some  might  suppose  this  knowledge  to 
have  been  the  result  of  second-sight,  but  my  sugges- 
tion is  that  it  was  the  result  of  an  ancient  tradition 
that  the  lower  part  of  the  African  continent  was 
shaped  as  depicted.  For  there  is  a  well-founded 
belief  that  about  the  beginning  of  the  sixth  century 
B.C.  the  Phoenicians  were  sent  by  Neco,  an  Egyptian 
king,  down  the  Red  Sea;  and  that  after  circum- 
navigating the  African  continent  they  entered  the 
Mediterranean  from  the  westward. 

The  dim  recollection  of  this  voyage  over  a  portion 
of  the  Indian  Ocean,  coupled  with  other  knowledge 
derived  from  the  Arabian  seamen,  doubtless  left 
little  hesitation  in  the  minds  of  the  seafaring  peoples 
of  the  Mediterranean  that  the  sea  route  to  India 
existed  if  indeed  it  could  be  found.  The  various 
fruitless  attempts,  beginning  with  Vivaldi's  voyage 
from  Genoa  in  1281,  are  all  evidence  that  this  belief 
never  died.  For  years  nothing  more  successful  was 
obtained  than  to  get  to  Madeira  or  a  little  lower 
down  the  west  coast  of  Africa,  yet  almost  every  effort 
was  pushing  on  nearer  the  goal;  even  though  that 
goal  was  still  a  very  long  way  distant.  The  East 
was  exercising  a  magnetic  influence  on  the  minds  of 
men  :  India  was  bound  to  be  discovered  sooner  or 
later,  if  they  did  not  weary  of  the  attempt. 


12  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

Then  comes  on  to  the  scene  the  famous  Prince 
Henry  the  Navigator,  who  built  the  first  observatory 
of  Portugal,  established  a  naval  arsenal,  gathered 
together  at  his  Sagres  headquarters  the  greatest 
pilots  and  navigators  which  could  be  collected, 
founded  a  school  of  navigation  and  chart-making, 
and  then  sent  his  trained,  picked  men  forth  to  sail 
the  seas,  explore  the  unknown  south  with  the  hope 
ultimately  of  reaching  the  rich  land  of  India.  I  have 
discussed  this  matter  with  such  detail  in  the  volume 
already  alluded  to  that  it  will  be  enough  if  I  here 
remark  briefly  that  though  Prince  Henry  died  in  the 
year  1460  without  any  of  his  ships  or  men  attaining 
India,  yet  less  than  forty  years  were  to  elapse  ere 
this  was  attained,  and  his  was  the  influence  which 
really  brought  this  about.  We  must  never  forget 
that  on  the  historical  roa'd  to  India  through  the  long 
ages  from  the  earliest  times  down  to  the  fifteenth 
century  the  name  of  Prince  Henry  the  Navigator 
represents  one  of  the  most  important  milestones. 

You  know  so  well  how  that  thereafter,  in  the  year 
1486,  the  King  of  Portugal  sent  forth  two  expedi- 
tions with  the  desire  to  find  an  eastern  route  to  India, 
and  that  one  of  these  proceeded  through  Egypt,  then 
down  the  Red  Sea,  across  the  Arabian  Sea,  and 
finally  after  some  hardships  reached  Calicut,  in  the 
south-west  of  India.  The  other  expedition  consisted 
of  a  little  squadron  under  Bartholomew  Diaz,  and 
although  it  did  not  get  as  far  as  India,  yet  it  passed 
the  Cape  of  Torments  without  knowing  it — far  out 
to  sea — and  even  sighted  Algoa  Bay.  The  Cape  of 
Torments  he  had  called  that  promontory  on  his  way 
back,  remembering  the  bad  weather  which  he  here 
found  :  but  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  his  master, 


II 


3*8 


THE  MAGNETIC  EAST  13 

King  John  II.,  renamed  it  when  Diaz  reached  home 
in  safety.  And  then,  finally,  the  last  of  these  efforts 
was  fraught  with  success  when  Vasco  da  Gama,  in 
the  year  1497,  not  only  doubled  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope,  but  discovered  Mozambique,  Melinda  (a  little 
north  of  Mombasa),  and  thence  with  the  help  of  an 
Indian  pilot  crossed  the  ocean  and  reached  Calicut 
by  sea  in  twenty-three  days — an  absolutely  unprece- 
dented achievement  for  one  who  had  sailed  all  the 
way  from  the  Tagus. 

This  was  the  beginning  of  an  entirely  new  era  in 
the  progress  of  the  world,  and  till  the  crack  of  doom 
it  will  remain  a  memorable  voyage,  not  merely  for 
the  fact  that  da  Gama  was  able  to  succeed  where  so 
many  others  had  failed,  but  because  it  unlocked  the 
door  of  the  East,  first  to  the  Portuguese,  and  subse- 
quently to  other  nations  of  Europe.  The  twin  arts 
of  seamanship  and  navigation  had  made  this  pos- 
sible, and  it  was  only  because  the  Portuguese,  most 
especially  Prince  Henry,  had  believed  "  in  ye  sea  " 
that  the  key  had  been  found.  As  Columbus,  by 
believing  in  the  sea,  was  enabled  in  looking  for 
India  to  open  up  the  Western  world,  so  was  da  Gama 
privileged  to  unlock  the  East.  And  since  the  sea 
connotes  the  ship  we  arrive  at  the  standpoint  that 
it  is  this  long-suffering  creature,  fashioned  by  the 
hand  of  man,  which  has  done  more  for  the  civilisation 
of  the  world  than  any  other  of  those  wonderful 
creations  which  the  human  mind  has  evolved  from 
the  things  of  the  earth. 

The  first  cargo  which  da  Gama  brought  home  was, 
so  to  speak,  merely  a  small  sample  of  those  goods 
which  were  to  be  obtained  by  the  ships  that  came 
after  for  generation  after  generation  till  the  present 


14  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

day.  It  showed  how  great  and  priceless  were  the 
riches  of  the  East — spices  and  perfumes,  pearls  and 
rubies,  diamonds  and  cinnamon.  The  safe  arrival 
of  these,  when  da  Gama  got  back  home,  made  a 
profound  impression.  But  it  was  no  mere  senti- 
mental wonder,  for  the  receipt  of  all  these  goods 
repaid  the  cost  of  the  entire  expedition  sixty-fold. 
From  this  time  forth  the  Portuguese  were  busily 
engaged  in  extracting  wealth  as  men  get  it  out  from 
a  gold  mine.  Their  ships  went  backwards  and  for- 
wards in  their  long  voyages,  sometimes  narrowly 
escaping  the  attentions  of  the  Moslem  pirates 
anxious  to  relieve  them  of  their  valuable  cargoes. 
Some  Portuguese  settled  in  India,  and  gradually 
there  came  into  existence  a  fringe  of  Portuguese 
nationality  extending  from  the  Malabar  coast  right 
away  to  the  Persian  Gulf.  Even  as  far  as  Japan 
was  the  East  explored,  and  the  vast  fortunes  which 
were  brought  back  ever  astonished  the  merchants  of 
Europe.  The  first  Portuguese  factory  was  estab- 
lished at  Calicut  in  the  year  1500.  For  about  a 
hundred  years  they  were  able  to  benefit,  unrivalled, 
by  their  newly  found  treasure-house  and  to  use  their 
best  endeavours,  unfettered,  to  empty  it. 

In  1503  they  erected  their  first  fortress  and 
strengthened  their  position.  In  their  hands  was  the 
monopoly :  theirs  were  the  great  and  invaluable 
secrets  of  this  amazing  trade.  And  considering 
everything — the  enterprise  and  training  of  Prince 
Henry,  the  far-sighted  prudence  in  believing  in  the 
sea,  the  years  and  years  of  distressful  voyages,  the 
final  attainment  of  the  treasure-land  only  after  many 
vicissitudes  and  the  loss  of  ships  and  men — we  can- 
not marvel  that  the  Portuguese  preserved  these 


THE  MAGNETIC  EAST  15 

secrets,  and  held  on  to  their  monopoly,  to  the  annoy- 
ance of  the  rest  of  civilised  Europe.  The  fact  was 
that  Portugal  was  then  the  sovereign  of  the  seas  : 
she  was  far  too  strong  afloat  for  any  other  country 
to  think  of  wresting  from  her  by  force  what  she  had 
obtained  only  by  much  study,  skill  and  persever- 
ance. What  she  had  obtained  she  was  going  to  hold. 
Those  who  wanted  these  Eastern  goods  must  come 
to  Lisbon,  where  the  mart  was  held  :  and  come  they 
did,  but  they  went  back  home  envious  that  Portugal 
should  enjoy  this  secret  monopoly,  and  wondering  all 
the  time  how  India  could  be  reached  by  a  new  route. 

Curiosity  and  envy  combined  have  been  the  means 
of  the  unravelling  of  many  a  secret.  It  was  so  now. 
Let  us  not  fail  to  realise  how  greatly  these  human 
feelings  influenced  many  of  the  voyages  during  the 
next  hundred  years.  We  justly  admire  the  great 
daring  of  the  Elizabethan  seamen,  but  though  the 
spirit  of  adventure  and  the  hatred  of  Spain  had  a 
great  deal  to  do  with  the  cause  of  their  setting  forth 
to  cross  the  ocean,  yet  there  was  another  reason  :  and 
this  explains  much  that  is  not  otherwise  quite  clear. 
It  is  always  fair  to  assume  that  men  do  not  act  except 
at  the  instigation  of  some  clear  motive.  They  do  not 
persuade  merchants  to  expend  the  whole  of  their 
small  wealth  in  buying  or  building  ships,  victualling 
them  and  providing  all  the  necessary  inventories, 
without  some  rational  cause.  In  the  Elizabethan 
times,  when  wealth  was  much  rarer  than  it  is  to-day, 
the  prime  motive  of  these  expeditions  was  the  pursuit 
of  greater  wealth. 

But  as  England  was  not  yet  as  expert  at  sea  as 
the  Portuguese,  she  could  not  hope  to  obtain  the 
treasures  of  distant  lands.  Before  she  was  ready 


16  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

there  was,  however,  still  Spain  :  and  the  latter  was 
determined  to  do  her  best  to  obtain  on  her  own  what 
Portugal  was  enjoying.  In  a  word,  then,  many  of  the 
sixteenth-century  voyages  which  we  have  attributed, 
rashly,  solely  to  a  hope  for  adventurous  exploration 
were  in  fact  animated  by  the  desire  to  find  some  new 
route  to  India.  To  this  inspiration  must  be  attri- 
buted many  of  those  long  sea  journeys  to  the  north, 
the  north-east  and  the  north-west.  Men  did  not 
endeavour  to  find  north-east  or  north-west  passages 
merely  for  fun,  but  in  order  to  discover  a  road  to 
India.  No  one  knew  that  it  was  impossible  :  if  the 
Portuguese  had  been  able  to  go  one  way,  why  should 
not  they  themselves  go  by  another  route  ?  Remem- 
bering this,  you  must  think  of  Spain  sending 
Magellan  to  the  west;  of  England  sending  Davis  to 
the  north-west;  and  of  Holland  sending  Barentsz  to 
the  north-east  to  find  a  passage  to  the  treasure-land 
of  India  or  China. 

The  Spaniards  discovered  a  way  to  India  through 
the  straits  which  are  called  after  Magellan,  and 
henceforth  did  their  utmost  to  keep  the  ships  of 
other  countries  out  of  their  newly  found  waters,  until 
the  increase  of  English  sea-power  and  the  daring  of 
our  more  experienced  seamen  showed  that  this 
Spanish  sovereignty  on  sea  could  not  be  maintained 
by  force.  But  still  the  English  seamen  had  not  yet 
reached  India.  We  must  turn  for  a  moment  to  the 
Dutch,  who  were  destined  to  become  a  great  naval 
power.  In  the  year  1580  the  Spanish  and  Portuguese 
dominions  had  become  united  under  the  Spanish 
crown,  and  the  Dutch  were  excluded  from  trading 
with  Lisbon,  their  ships  confiscated  and  their  owners 
thrown  into  prison.  Now,  one  of  these  captains 


THE  MAGNETIC  EAST  17 

while  undergoing  his  imprisonment  obtained  from 
some  Portuguese  sailors  a  good  deal  of  information 
concerning  the  Indian  Seas,  so  that  when  he  reached 
the  Netherlands  again  he  told  the  most  wonderful 
accounts  to  his  countrymen.  The  latter  were  so 
impressed  by  what  was  related  that  they  decided  to 
send  an  expedition  to  find  the  Indies  themselves. 

Presently,  then,  we  shall  see  the  Dutch  not  merely 
casting  longing  eyes  towards  India,  but  actually 
getting  a  footing  therein,  building  up  a  very  lucrative 
trade  and  employing  great,  well-built  craft :  but 
before  we  come  to  that  stage  we  must  note  the 
gradual  and  persistent  way  in  which  the  countries 
outside  the  Iberian  Peninsula  felt  their  way  to  this 
land  of  spices  and  precious  stones,  and  after  groping 
some  time  in  the  dark  found  that  which  they  had 
been  searching  for  during  generations. 


CHAPTER   III 

THE  LURE   OF  NATIONS 

WHEN  once  it  was  realised  how  wonderful  was 
Portugal's  good  fortune  in  the  East,  the  nations  of 
Europe  one  and  all  desired  to  enjoy  some  of  these 
riches  for  themselves. 

Even  during  the  time  of  Henry  VIII.  one  Master 
Robert  Thorne,  a  London  merchant,  who  had  lived 
for  a  long  time  in  Seville  and  had  observed  with 
envy  the  enterprise  of  the  Portuguese,  declared  to  his 
English  sovereign  a  secret  "  which  hitherto,  as  I 
suppose,  hath  beene  hid  "  —viz.  that  "  with  a  small 
number  of  ships  there  may  bee  discovered  divers 
New  lands  and  kingdomes  ...  to  which  places  there 
is  left  one  way  to  discover,  which  is  into  the  North. 
.  .  .  For  out  of  Spaine  they  have  discovered  all  the 
Indies  and  Seas  Occidentall,  and  out  of  Portingall 
all  the  Indies  and  Seas  Orientall."  His  idea,  then, 
was  to  seek  a  way  to  India  via  the  north.  The  same 
Robert  Thorne,  writing  in  the  year  1527  to  Dr  Ley, 
"  Lord  ambassadour  for  king  Henry  the  eight,"  con- 
cerning "  the  new  trade  of  spicery  "  of  the  East, 
pointed  out  the  wealth  of  the  Moluccas  (Malay 
Archipelago)  abounding  "  with  golde,  Rubies,  Dia- 
mondes,  Balasses,  Granates,  Jacincts,  and  other 
stones  and  pearles,  as  all  other  lands,  that  are  under 

18 


THE  LURE  OF  NATIONS  19 

and  neere  the  Equinoctiall  ";  for  just  as  "our 
mettalls  be  Lead,  Tinne,  and  iron,  so  theirs  be  gold, 
silver  and  copper." 

Now  Master  Thorne  was  a  very  shrewd  investor. 
''  In  a  fleete  of  three  shippes  and  a  caravel,"  he  says, 
:c  that  went  from  this  citie  armed  by  the  mar  chants  of 
it,  which  departed  in  Aprill  last  past,  I  ami  my 
partener  have  one  thousand  foure  hundred  duckets 
that  we  employed  in  the  sayd  fleete,  principally  for 
that  two  English  men,  friends  of  mine,  which  are 
somewhat  learned  in  Cosmographie,  should  go  in 
the  same  shippes,  to  bring  me  certaine  relation  of 
the  situation  of  the  countrey,  and  to  be  expert  in  the 
navigation  of  those  seas,  and  there  to  have  informa- 
tions of  many  other  things,  and  advise  that  I  desire 
to  know  especially."  His  idea  was  that  our  seamen 
should  obtain  some  of  the  Portuguese  "  cardes  " 
(i.e.  charts)  "  by  which  they  saile,"  "  learne  how  they 
understand  them,"  and  thus,  in  plain  language,  crib 
some  of  the  Portuguese  secrets. 

Thorne  shows  that  he  was  no  mean  student  of 
geography  himself.  Already  he  possessed  "  a  little 
Mappe  or  Carde  of  the  world  "  and  pointed  out  that 
from  Cape  Verde  "  the  coast  goeth  Southward  to  a 
Cape  called  Capo  de  buona  speransa  "  (the  Portu- 
guese name  for  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope).  "  And  by 
this  Cape  go  the  Portingals  to  their  Spicerie.  For 
from  this  Cape  toward  the  Orient,  is  the  land  of 
Calicut."  '  The  coastes  of  the  Sea  throughout  all 
the  world  I  have  coloured  with  yellow,  for  that  it 
may  appeare  that  all  is  within  the  line  coloured 
yellow  is  to  be  imagined  to  be  maine  land  or  islands  : 
and  all  without  the  line  so  coloured  to  bee  Sea : 
whereby  it  is  easie  and  light  to  know  it."  Now 


20  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

Thorne  had  obtained  this  "  carde  "  somehow  by 
stealth  :  by  rights  he  should  not  have  possessed  it, 
for  the  Portuguese,  as  already  mentioned,  were  most 
anxious  that  their  Indian  secrets  should  not  be 
divulged.  He  therefore  begs  his  friend  not  to  show 
anyone  this  chart  else  "  it  may  be  a  cause  of  paine 
to  the  maker :  as  well  for  that  none  may  make  these 
cardes,  but  certaine  appointed  and  allowed  for 
masters,  as  for  that  peradventure  it  would  not  sound 
well  to  them,  that  a  stranger  should  know  or  dis- 
cover their  secretes  :  and  would  appeare  worst  of  all, 
if  they  understand  that  I  write  touching  the  short  way 
to  the  spicerie  by  our  Seas." 

We  see,  then,  the  determined  desire  to  obtain  the 
required  information  about  a  route  to  India  obtained 
from  the  study  of  the  very  charts  which  the  Portu- 
guese made  after  some  of  their  voyages,  and  by 
sending  Englishmen  out  in  their  ships  sufficiently 
expert  in  cosmography  to  learn  all  that  could  be 
known.  It  must  not  be  forgotten,  at  the  same  time, 
that  there  were  also  land-travellers  who  journeyed  to 
India  and  brought  back  alluring  accounts  of  India. 
Caesar  Frederick,  for  instance,  a  Venetian  merchant, 
set  forth  in  the  year  1563  with  some  merchandise 
bound  for  the  East.  From  Venice  he  sailed  in  a 
vessel  as  far  as  Cyprus  :  from  there  he  took  passage 
in  a  smaller  craft  and  landed  in  Syria,  and  then 
journeying  to  Aleppo  got  in  touch  with  some 
Armenian  and  Moorish  merchants  whom  he  accom- 
panied to  Ormuz  (on  the  Persian  Gulf),  where  he 
found  that  the  Portuguese  had  already  established 
a  factory  and  strengthened  it,  as  the  English  East 
India  Company's  servants  were  afterwards  wont, 
with  a  fort.  From  Ormuz  he  went  on  to  Goa  and 


THE  LURE  OF  NATIONS  21 

other  places  in  India.  Already,  he  pointed  out,  the 
Portuguese  had  a  fleet  or  "  Armada  "  of  warships  to 
guard  their  merchant  craft  in  these  parts  from  attack 
by  pirates.  Proceeding  thence  to  Cochin,  at  the 
south-west  of  India,  he  found  that  the  natives  called 
all  Christians  coming  from  the  West  Portuguese, 
whether  they  were  Italians,  Frenchmen  or  whatever 
else  :  so  powerful  a  hold  had  the  first  settlers  from 
the  Iberian  Peninsula  gained  on  the  Indians.  We 
need  not  follow  this  traveller  on  his  way  to  Sumatra, 
to  the  Ganges  and  elsewhere,  but  it  is  enough  to  state 
that  the  accounts  which  he  gave  to  his  fellow- 
Europeans  naturally  whetted  still  more  the  appetites 
of  the  merchant  traders  anxious  to  get  in  touch  with 
India  by  sea.  He  told  them  how  rich  the  East  was 
in  pepper  and-ginger,  nutmegs  and  sandalwood,  aloes, 
pearls,  rubies,  sapphires,  diamonds.  It  was  a  mag- 
nificent opportunity  for  an  honest  merchant  to  find 
wealth.  "  Now  to  finish  that  which  I  have  begunne 
to  write,  I  say  that  those  parts  of  the  Indies  are  very 
good,  because  that  a  man  that  hath  little  shall  make  a 
very  great  deale  thereof  :  alwayes  they  must  governe 
themselves  that  they  be  taken  for  honest  men." 

When  Magellan  set  forth  from  Seville  to  find  a 
new  route  to  India  he  had  gone  via  the  straits  which 
now  bear  his  name,  and  then  striking  north-west 
across  the  wide  Pacific  had  arrived  at  the  Philippine 
Islands,  where  he  was  killed.  But  his  ships  pro- 
ceeded thence  to  the  Moluccas,  and  one  of  his  little 
squadron  of  five  actually  arrived  back  at  Seville, 
having  thus  encircled  the  globe.  Englishmen,  how- 
ever, were  so  determined  that  there  was  a  nearer 
route  than  this  that,  in  the  year  1582,  the  Indian 
frenzy  which  enthralled  our  countrymen  culminated 


22  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

in  the  voyage  of  Edward  Fenton  that  set  forth  bound 
for  Asia.  This  expedition  consisted  of  four  ships. 
It  was  customary  in  those  days  to  speak  of  the 
Commodore  or  Admiral  of  the  expedition  as  the 
"  Generall,"  thus  indicating,  by  the  way,  that  not 
yet  had  the  English  navy  got  away  from  the  influence 
of  the  land  army.  The  flagship  was  spoken  of  as  the 
"  Admirall."  These  four  ships,  then,  consisted, 
firstly,  of  the  Leicester,  the  "  Admirall  "  of  the 
squadron.  She  was  a  vessel  of  400  tons,  her 
"  generall  "  being  Captain  Edward  Fenton,  with 
William  Hawkins  (the  younger)  as  :c  Lieutenant 
General/'  or  second  in  command  of  the  expedition, 
the  master  of  the  ship  being  Christopher  Hall.  The 
second  ship  was  the  Edward  Bonaventure,  a  well- 
known  sixteenth-century  craft  of  300  tons,  which  was 
commanded  by  Captain  Luke  Ward,  and  the  master 
was  Thomas  Perrie.  The  third  ship  was  the  Francis, 
a  little  craft  of  only  40  tons,  whose  captain  was 
John  Drake  and  her  master  was  William  Markham. 
The  fourth  was  the  Elizabeth,  of  50  tons ;  captain, 
Thomas  Skevington,  and  master,  Ralph  Crane. 

Before  we  proceed  any  further  it  may  be  as  well 
to  explain  a  point  that  might  otherwise  cause  con- 
fusion. In  the  ships  of  that  time  the  captain  was  in 
supreme  command,  but  he  was  not  necessarily  a  sea- 
man or  navigator.  He  was  the  leader  of  the  ship  or 
expedition,  but  he  was  not  a  specialist  in  the  arts  of 
the  sea.  As  we  know  from  Monson,  Elizabethan 
captains  "  were  gentlemen  of  worth  and  means, 
maintaining  there  diet  at  their  own  charge."  '  The 
Captaines  charge,"  says  the  famous  Elizabethan 
Captain  John  Smith,  the  first  president  of  Virginia, 
"is  to  commaund  all,  and  tell  theMaister  to  what  port 


THE  LURE  OF  NATIONS  23 

he  will  go,  or  to  what  height  "  (i.e.  latitude).  In  a 
fight  he  is  "  to  giue  direction  for  the  managing  there- 
of, and  the  Maister  is  to  see  to  the  cunning  [of]  the 
ship,  and  trimming  the  sailes."  The  master  is  also, 
with  his  mate,  "  to  direct  the  course,  commaund  all 
the  saylors,  for  steering,  trimming,  and  sayling  the 
ship  "  :  and  the  pilot  is  he  who,  "  when  they  make 
land,  doth  take  the  charge  of  the  ship  till  he  bring 
her  to  harbour."  And,  finally,  not  to  weary  the  reader 
too  much,  there  is  just  one  other  word  which  is  often 
used  in  these  expeditions  that  we  may  explain.  The 
"  cape-merchant  "  was  the  man  who  had  shipped  on 
board  to  look  after  the  cargo  of  merchandise  carried 
in  the  hold. 

On  the  ist  of  April  1582  the  Edward  Bonaventure 
started  from  Blackwall  in  the  Thames,  and  on  the 
nineteenth  of  the  same  month  arrived  off  Netley,  in 
Southampton  Water,  where  the  Leicester  was  found 
waiting.  On  ist  May  the  four  weighed  anchor,  but 
did  not  get  clear  of  the  land  till  the  end  of  the 
month,  "  partly  of  businesse,  and  partly  of  contrary 
windes."  The  complement  of  these  ships  numbered 
a  couple  of  hundred,  including  the  gentlemen  adven- 
turers with  their  servants,  the  factors  (who  were  to 
open  up  trade),  and  the  chaplains.  In  selecting 
crews,  as  many  seamen  as  possible  were  obtained, 
but  by  this  time  these  were  not  at  all  numerous  in 
England  :  and  even  then  great  care  had  to  be  taken 
to  avoid  shipping  "  any  disordered  or  mutinous 
person/' 

The  instructions  given  to  Captain  Fenton  are  so 
illustrative  of  these  rules  then  so  essential  for  the 
good  government  of  overseas  expeditions  that  it 
will  not  be  out  of  place  to  notice  them  with  some 


v 


24  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

detail.  As  for  the  "  Generall,"  "  if  it  should  please 
God  to  take  him  away/5  a  number  of  names  were 
"  secretly  set  down  to  succeede  in  his  place  one  after 
the  other."  These  names  were  inscribed  on  parch- 
ment and  then  sealed  up  in  balls  of  wax  with  the 
Queen's  signet.  They  were  then  placed  in  two 
coffers,  which  were  locked  with  three  separate  locks, 
one  key  being  kept  in  the  custody  of  the  captain  of 
the  Edward  Bonaventure,  the  second  in  the  care  of 
the  Leicester's  captain,  and  the  third  in  the  keeping 
of  Master  Maddox,  the  chaplain.  If  the  general 
were  to  die,  these  coffers  were  to  be  opened  and  the 
party  named  therein  to  succeed  him. 

Fenton's  instructions  were  to  use  all  possible  dili- 
gence to  leave  Southampton  with  his  ships  before  the 
end  of  April,  and  then  make  for  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope  and  so  to  the  Moluccas.  After  leaving  the 
English  coast  the  general  was  to  have  special  regard 
"  so  to  order  your  course,  as  that  your  ships  and 
vessels  lose  not  one  another,  but  keep  companie 
together."  But  lest  by  tempest  or  other  cause  the 
squadron  should  get  separated,  the  captains  and 
masters  were  to  be  advised  previously  of  rendezvous, 
"  wherein  you  will  stay  certaine  dayes."  And  every 
ship  which  reached  her  rendezvous  and  then  passed 
on  without  knowing  what  had  become  of  the  other 
ships,  was  to  "  leave  upon  every  promontorie  or  cape 
a  token  to  stand  in  sight,  with  a  writing  lapped  in 
leade  to  declare  the  day  of  their  passage."  They 
were  not  to  take  anything  from  the  Queen's  friends 
or  allies,  or  any  Christians,  without  paying  therefor  : 
and  in  all  transactions  they  were  to  deal  like  good 
and  honest  merchants,  "  ware  for  ware." 

With  a  view  to  inaugurating  a  future  trade  they 


THE  LURE  OF  NATIONS  25 

were  if  possible  to  bring  home  one  or  two  of  the 
natives,  leaving  behind  some  Englishmen  as  pledges, 
and  in  order  to  learn  the  language  of  the  country. 
No  person  was  to  keep  for  his  private  use  any 
precious  stone  or  metal :  otherwise  he  was  to  lose 
"  all  the  recompense  he  is  to  have  for  his  service  in 
this  voyage  by  share  or  otherwise.53  A  just  account 
was  to  be  kept  of  the  merchandise  taken  out  from 
England  and  what  was  brought  home  subsequently. 
And  there  is  a  strict  order  given  which  shows  how 
slavishly  the  Portuguese  example  of  secrecy  was 
being  copied.  "  You  shall  give  straight  order  to 
restraine,  that  none  shall  make  any  charts  or  descrip- 
tions of  the  sayd  voyage,  but  such  as  shall  bee  deputed 
by  you  the  General!,  which  sayd  charts  and  descrip- 
tions, wee  thinke  meete  that  you  the  Generall  shall 
take  into  your  hands  at  your  returne  to  this  our  coast 
of  England,  leaving  with  them  no  copie,  and  to 
present  them  unto  us  at  your  returne  :  the  like  to  be 
done  if  they  finde  any  charts  or  maps  in  those 
countreys." 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  expedition  the  ships  were 
to  make  for  the  Thames,  and  no  one  was  to  land  any 
goods  until  the  Lords  of  the  Council  had  been  in- 
formed of  the  ships'  arrival.  As  to  the  routine  on 
board,  Fenton  was  instructed  to  set  down  in  writing 
the  rules  to  be  kept  by  the  crew,  so  that  in  no  case 
could  ignorance  be  pleaded  as  excuse  for  delin- 
quency. "  And  to  the  end  God  may  blesse  this 
voyage  with  happie  and  prosperous  successe,  you 
shall  have  an  especiall  care  to  see  that  reverence  and 
respect  bee  had  to  the  Ministers  appointed  to  accom- 
panie  you  in  this  voyage,  as  appertaineth  to  their 
place  and  calling,  and  to  see  such  good  order  as  by 


26  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

them  shall  be  set  downe  for  reformation  of  life  and 
maners,  duely  obeyed  and  perfourmed,  by  causing 
the  transgressours  and  contemners  of  the  same  to  be 
severely  punished,  and  the  Ministers  to  remoove 
sometime  from  one  vessell  to  another." 

But  notwithstanding  all  these  precautions  this  voy- 
age was  not  the  success  which  had  been  hoped  for. 
After  reaching  the  west  coast  of  Africa  and  then 
stretching  across  to  Brazil,  where  they  watered  ships, 
did  some  caulking,  "  scraped  off  the  wormes  "  from 
the  hulls,  and  learnt  that  the  Spanish  fleet  were  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  the  Magellan  Straits,  they 
determined  to  return  to  England.  This  they  accord- 
ingly did.  Before  leaving  England  they  had  been 
instructed  not  to  pass  by  these  straits  either  going  or 
returning,  "  except  upon  great  occasion  incident  " 
with  the  consent  of  at  least  four  of  Fenton's  assist- 
ants. But  a  conference  had  decided  that  it  were  best 
to  make  for  Brazil.  And  then  the  news  which  they 
received  there  of  the  Spanish  fleet  convinced  them 
that  it  were  futile  to  attempt  to  get  to  India  that  way. 

But  as  the  Italian  whom  we  mentioned  just  now 
got  to  India  by  the  overland  route,  so  an  English- 
man named  Ralph  Fitch,  a  London  merchant,  being 
desirous  to  see  the  Orient,  reached  Goa  in  India  via 
Syria  and  Ormuz.  He  set  sail  from  Gravesend  on 
I3th  February  1582,  left  Falmouth  on  nth  March, 
and  then  never  put  in  anywhere  till  the  ship  landed 
him  at  Tripoli  in  Syria  on  the  following  3Oth  April. 
After  being  absent  from  home  nine  years,  Fitch  came 
back  in  an  English  ship  to  London  in  April  1591. 
The  reports  which  he  brought  were  similar  to  the 
Italian's  verdict.  India  was  rich  in  pepper,  ginger, 
cloves,  nutmegs,  sandalwood,  camphor,  amber,  sap- 


THE  LURE  OF  NATIONS  27 

phires,  rubies,  diamonds,  pearls,  and  so  on.  There 
was  not  the  slightest  doubt  that  it  was  the  country  to 
trade  with.  But,  as  yet,  no  English  ship  had  found 
the  way  thither. 

During  the  years  1585-1587  John  Davis  tried  to 
find  a  way  thither  by  the  North- West  Passage.  Davis 
had  a  fine  reputation  as  "  a  man  very  well  grounded 
in  the  principles  of  the  Arte  of  Navigation," but  none 
the  less  his  efforts  were  unavailing.  In  1588  the 
coming  of  the  expected  Armada  turned  the  energies 
of  the  English  seamen  into  another  channel.  But 
already,  in  the  year  1586,  Thomas  Candish  had  set 
out  from  Plymouth  with  the  Desire,  120  tons,  the 
Content  of  60  tons  and  the  Hugh  Gallant  of  40  tons, 
victualled  for  two  years  and  well  found  at  his  own 
expense.  Journeying  via  Sierra  Leone,  Brazil  and  the 
Magellan  Straits,  he  reached  the  Pacifice  and  China, 
and  after  touching  at  the  Philippine  Islands  passed 
through  the  Straits  of  Java.  From  Java  he  crossed 
the  ocean  to  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  was  able  to 
correct  the  errors  in  the  Portuguese  sea  "  carts,"  and 
in  September  1588  reached  Plymouth  once  more, 
having  learnt  from  a  Flemish  craft  bound  from 
Lisbon  that  the  Spanish  Armada  had  been  defeated, 
"  to  the  singular  rejoycjng  and  comfort  of  us  all."  * 

The  value  of  this  voyage  round  the  world  was, 
from  a  navigator's  point  of  view,  of  inestimable  ad- 
vantage. For  the  benefit  of  those  English  navigators 
who  were,  a  few  years  later,  to  begin  the  ceaseless 
voyages  backwards  and  forwards  round  the  Cape  of 

*  Drake  of  course  had  previously  encircled  the  globe  in  a 
voyage  of  twenty-six  months,  having  set  forth  from  Plymouth  in 
1577,  though  his  was  even  more  of  a  buccaneering  expedition 
than  that  of  Candish. 


28  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

Good  Hope,  between  England  and  India,  Candish 
made  the  most  elaborate  notes  and  sailing  directions, 
giving  the  latitudes  (or,  as  the  Elizabethans  called 
them,  "  the  heights  ")  of  most  of  the  places  passed 
or  visited.  Very  elaborate  soundings  were  taken  and 
recorded,  giving  the  depth  in  fathoms  and  the  nature 
of  the  sea-bed,  wherever  they  went  round  the  world, 
if  the  depth  was  not  too  great.  In  addition,  he 
gave  the  courses  from  place  to  place,  the  distances, 
where  to  anchor,  what  dangers  to  avoid,  providing 
warning  of  any  difficult  straits  or  channels,  the  varia- 
tion of  the  compass  at  different  places,  the  direction 
of  the  wind  from  certain  dates  to  certain  dates,  and 
so  on.  But  this,  valuable  as  it  undoubtedly  was  in 
many  ways,  did  not  exhaust  the  utility  of  the  voyage. 
From  China,  whither  the  ships  of  the  East  India 
Company  some  years  later  were  to  trade,  "  I  have 
brought  such  intelligence,"  he  wrote  on  his  return  to 
the  Lord  Chamberlain,  "  as  hath  not  bene  heard  of 
in  these  parts.  The  stateliness  and  riches  of  which 
countrey  I  f eare  to  make  report  of,  least  I  should  not 
be  credited  :  for  if  I  had  not  knowen  sufficiently  the 
incomparable  wealth  of  that  countrey,  I  should  have 
bene  as  incredulous  thereof,  as  others  will  be  that 
have  not  had  the  like  experience." 

And  he  showed  in  still  further  detail  the  fine 
opportunity  which  existed  in  the  East  and  awaited 
only  the  coming  of  the  English  merchant.  :<  I  sailed 
along  the  Hands  of  the  Malucos,  where  among  some 
of  the  heathen  people  I  was  well  intreated,  where 
our  countrey  men  may  have  trade  as  freely  as  the 
Portugals  if  they  will  themselves." 

It  is  not  therefore  surprising  that  in  the  following 
year  the  English  merchants  began  to  stir  themselves 


THE  LURE  OF  NATIONS  29 

afresh.  The  East  was  calling  loudly  :  and  with  the 
information  brought  back  by  Candish  and  some 
other  knowledge,  gained  in  a  totally  different 
manner,  the  time  was  now  ripe  for  an  expedition  to 
succeed.  For  in  the  year  1587  Drake  had  left  Ply- 
mouth, sailed  across  the  Bay  of  Biscay,  arrived  at 
Cadiz  Roads,  where  he  did  considerable  harm  to 
Spanish  shipping,  spoiled  Philip's  plans  for  invad- 
ing England  that  year,  and  then  set  a  course  for  the 
Azores.  It  was  not  long  before  he  sighted  a  big,  tall 
ship,  which  was  none  other  than  the  great  carack, 
San  Felipe,  belonging  to  the  King  of  Spain  himself, 
whose  name  in  fact  she  bore.  This  vessel  was  now 
homeward-bound  from  the  East  Indies  and  full  of  a 
rich  cargo.  Drake  made  it  his  duty  to  capture  her  in 
spite  of  her  size,  and  very  soon  she  was  his  and  on 
her  way  to  Plymouth. 

Now  the  most  wonderful  feature  of  this  incident 
was,  historically,  not  the  daring  of  Drake  nor  the 
value  of  the  ship  and  cargo.  The  latter  combined 
were  found  to  be  worth  ,£114,000  in  Elizabethan 
money,  or  in  modern  coinage  about  a  million  pounds 
sterling.  But  the  most  valuable  of  all  were  the 
ship's  papers  found  aboard,  which  disclosed  the 
long-kept  secrets  of  the  East  Indian  trade.  There- 
fore, this  fact,  taken  in  conjunction  with  the  arrival 
of  Candish  the  year  following,  and  the  wonderful 
incentive  to  English  sea-daring  given  by  the  victory 
over  the  Spanish  Armada — the  fleet  of  the  very 
nation  whose  ships  had  kept  the  English  out  of 
India — will  prepare  the  reader  for  the  memorial 
which  the  English  merchants  made  to  Queen  Eliza- 
beth, setting  forth  the  great  benefits  which  would 
arise  through  a  direct  trade  with  India.  They  there- 


30  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

fore  prayed  for  a  royal  licence  to  send  three  ships 
thither.  But  Elizabeth  was  a  procrastinating,  uncer- 
tain woman.  She  had  in  that  expedition  of  Drake 
in  1587  first  given  her  permission  and  then  had  sent 
a  messenger  post  haste  all  the  way  to  Plymouth 
countermanding  these  orders.  Luckily  for  the 
country,  Drake  had  already  got  so  far  out  to  sea 
that  it  was  impossible  to  deliver  the  message  :  and  it 
was  a  good  thing  there  was  no  such  thing  as  wireless 
telegraphy  in  Elizabeth's  time. 

So,  in  regard  to  these  petitioning  merchants,  first 
she  would  and  then  she  wouldn't,  and  she  kept  the 
matter  hanging  indecisively  until  a  few  months 
before  April  1591.  By  that  time  the  necessary 
capital  had  been  raised  and  the  final  preparations 
made,  so  that  on  the  tenth  of  that  month  "  three  tall 
ships,"  named  respectively  the  Penelope  (which  was 
the  "  Admirall  "),  the  Marchant  Royall  (which  was 
the  "  Vice-Admirall  ")  and  the  Edward  Bonaventure 
("  Rear-Admirall  ")  were  able  to  let  loose  their 
canvas  and  sailed  out  of  Plymouth  Sound.  \ 


CHAPTER   IV 

THE  ROUTE  TO  THE   EAST 

I  WANT  in  this  chapter  to  call  your  attention  to  a  very 
gallant  English  captain  named  James  Lancaster, 
whose  grit  and  endurance  in  the  time  of  hard  things, 
whose  self-effacing  loyalty  to  duty,  show  that  there 
were  giants  afloat  in  those  days  in  the  ships  which 
were  to  voyage  to  the  East. 

The  account  of  the  first  of  these  voyages  I  have 
taken  from  Hakluyt,  who  in  turn  had  obtained  it  by 
word  of  mouth  from  a  man  named  Edmund  Barker, 
of  Ipswich.  Hakluyt  was  known  for  his  love  of 
associating  with  seamen  and  obtaining  from  them 
first-hand  accounts  of  their  experiences  afloat.  And 
inasmuch  as  Barker  is  described  as  Lancaster's 
lieutenant  on  the  voyage,  and  the  account  was  wit- 
nessed by  James  Lancaster's  signature,  we  may  rely 
on  the  facts  being  true.  Hakluyt  was  of  course  very 
closely  connected  with  the  subject  of  our  inquiry. 
When  the  East  India  Company  was  started  he  was 
appointed  its  first  historiographer,  a  post  for  which 
he  was  eminently  fitted/^ He  lectured  on  the  subject 
of  voyaging  to  the  Orient,  he  made  the  maps  and 
journals  which  came  back  in  these  ships  useful  to 
subsequent  navigators  and  of  the  greatest  interest  to 
merchants  and  others.  And  when  he  died  his  work 


32  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

was  in  part  carried  on  by  Samuel  Purchas  of  Pil- 
grimes  fame.  The  second  of  these  voyages,  in 
which  Lancaster  again  triumphs  over  what  many 
would  call  sheer  bad  luck,  has  been  taken  from  a 
letter  which  was  sent  to  the  East  India  Company  by 
one  of  its  servants,  and  is  preserved  in  the  archives 
of  the  India  Office  and  will  be  dealt  with  in  the 
following  chapter.  But  for  the  present  we  will  con- 
fine our  attention  to  the  voyage  of  those  three  ships 
mentioned  at  the  end  of  the  last  chapter. 

After  leaving  Devonshire  the  Penelope,  Marchant 
Royall  and  Edward  Bonaventure  arrived  at  the 
Canary  Isles  in  a  fortnight,  having  the  advantage  .of 
a  fair  north-east  wind.  Before  reaching  the  Equator 
they  were  able  to  capture  a  Portuguese  caravel 
bound  from  Lisbon  for  Brazil  with  a  cargo 
of  Portuguese  merchandise  consisting  of  60  tuns 
of  wine,  1200  jars  of  oil,  about  100  jars  of 
olives  and  other  produce.  This  came  as  a  verit- 
able good  fortune  to  the  English  ships,  for  the 
latter's  crews  had  already  begun  to  be  afflicted  with 
bad  health.  "  We  had  two  men  died  before  wee 
passed  the  line,  and  divers  sicke,  which  tooke  their 
sicknesse  in  those  hote  climates  :  for  they  be  wonder- 
ful unholesome  from  8  degrees  of  Northerly  latitude 
unto  the  line,  at  that  time  of  the  yeere  :  for  we  had 
nothing  but  Ternados,  with  such  thunder,  lightning, 
and  raine,  that  we  could  not  keep  our  men  drie  3 
houres  together,  which  was  an  occasion  of  the  infec- 
tion among  them,  and  their  eating  of  salt  victuals, 
with  lacke  of  clothes  to  shift  them."  After  crossing 
the  Equator  they  had  for  a  long  time  an  east-south- 
east wind,  which  carried  them  to  within  a  hundred 
leagues  of  the  coast  of  Brazil,  and  then  getting  a 


THE  ROUTE  TO  THE  EAST  33 

northerly  wind  they  were  able  to  make  for  the  Cape 
of  Good  Hope,  which  they  sighted  on  28th  July. 
For  three  days  they  stood  off  and  on  with  a  contrary 
wind,  unable  to  weather  it.  They  had  had  a  long 
voyage,  and  the  health  of  the  crew  in  those  leaky, 
stinking  ships  had  become  bad.  They  therefore 
made  for  Table  Bay,  or,  as  it  was  then  called, 
Saldanha,  where  they  anchored  on  ist  August. 

The  men  were  able  to  go  ashore  and  obtain  exer- 
cise after  being  cramped  for  so  many  weeks  afloat, 
and  found  the  land  inhabited  by  black  savages, 
"  very  brutish/5  They  obtained  fresh  food  by  shoot- 
ing fowl,  though  "  there  was  no  fish  but  muskles  and 
other  shel-fish,  which  we  gathered  on  the  rockes." 
Later  on  a  number  of  seals  and  penguins  were  killed 
and  taken  on  board,  and  eventually,  thanks  to  negro 
assistance,  cattle  and  sheep  were  obtained  by  barter- 
ing. But  when  the  time  came  to  start  off  for  the  rest 
of  the  voyage  it  was  very  clear  that  the  squadron, 
owing  to  the  loss  by  sickness,  was  deficient  in  able- 
bodied  men.  It  was  therefore  "  thought  good  rather 
to  proceed  with  two  ships  wel  manned,  then  with 
three  evill  manned  :  for  here  wee  had  of  sound  and 
whole  men  but  198."  It  was  deemed  best  to  send 
home  the  Marchant  Royall  with  fifty  men,  many  of 
whom  were  pretty  well  recovered  from  the  devastat- 
ing disease  of  scurvy.  The  extraordinary  feature  of 
the  voyage  was  that  the  sailors  suffered  from  this 
disease  more  than  the  soldiers.  :c  Our  souldiers 
which  have  not  bene  used  to  the  Sea,  have  best  held 
out,  but  our  mariners  dropt  away,  which  (in  my 
judgement)  proceedeth  of  their  evill  diet  at  home." 

So  the  other  two  ships  proceeded  on  their  way 
towards  India  :  but  not  long  after  rounding  the  Cape 


34  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

of  Good  Hope  they  encountered  "  a  mighty  storme 
and  extreeme  gusts  of  wind  "  off  Cape  Corrientes, 
during  which  the  Edward  Bonaventure  lost  sight  of 
the  Penelope.  The  latter,  in  fact,  was  never  seen 
again,  and  there  is  no  doubt  that  she  foundered  with 
all  hands.  The  Edward,  however,  pluckily  kept  on, 
though  four  days  later  "  we  had  a  terrible  clap  of 
thunder,  which  slew  foure  of  our  men  outright,  their 
necks  being  wrung  in  sonder  without  speaking  any 
word,  and  of  94  men  there  was  not  one  untouched, 
whereof  some  were  stricken  blind,  others  were 
bruised  in  their  legs  and  armes,  and  others  in  their 
brests,  so  that  they  voided  blood  two  days  after, 
others  were  drawn  out  at  length  as  though  they  had 
bene  racked.  But  (God  be  thanked)  they  all  re- 
covered saving  onely  the  foure  which  were  slaine  out 
right."  The  same  electric  storm  had  wrecked  the 
mainmast  "  from  the  head  to  the  decke  "  and  "  some 
of  the  spikes  that  were  ten  inches  into  the  timber 
were  melted  with  the  extreme  heate  thereof.3'  Truly 
Lancaster's  command  was  a  very  trying  one.  What 
with  a  scurvy  crew,  an  unhandy  ship,  now  partially 
disabled,  and  both  hurricanes  and  electric  storms, 
there  was  all  the  trouble  to  break  the  spirit  of  many 
a  man.  Still,  he  held  determinedly  on  his  way 
whither  he  was  bound. 

But  his  troubles  were  now  very  nearly  ended  in 
one  big  disaster.  After  having  proceeded  along  the 
south-east  coast  of  Africa,  and  steering  in  a  north- 
easterly direction,  the  ship  was  wallowing  along  her 
course  over  the  sea  when  a  dramatic  incident 
occurred.  It  was  night,  and  while  some  were  below 
sleeping,  one  of  the  men  on  deck,  peering  through 
the  moonlight,  saw  ahead  what  he  took  for  breakers. 


THE  ROUTE  TO  THE  EAST  35 

He  called  the  attention  of  his  companions  and  in- 
quired what  it  was,  and  they  readily  answered  that 
it  was  the  sea  breaking  on  the  shoals.  It  was  the 
'  Hand  of  S.  Laurence."  "Whereupon  in  very  good 
time  we  cast  about  to  avoyd  the  danger  which  we 
were  like  to  have  incurred."  But  it  had  been  a  close 
shave,  and  though  Lancaster  was  to  endure  many 
other  grievous  hardships  before  his  days  were  ended, 
yet  but  for  the  light  of  the  kindly  moon  his  ship,  his 
crew  and  his  own  life  would  almost  certainly  have 
been  lost  that  night. 

But  this  was  presently  to  be  succeeded  by  the 
luck  of  falling  in  with  three  or  four  Arab  craft,  which 
were  taken,  their  cargo  of  ducks  and  hens  being  very- 
acceptable .  They  watered  the  ship  at  the  Comoro 
Islands;  a  Portuguese  boy,  whom  they  had  taken 
when  the  Arab  craft  were  captured,  being  a  useful 
acquisition  as  interpreter.  But  the  master  of  the 
Edward  Bonaventure,  having  gone  ashore  with  thirty 
of  his  men  to  obtain  a  still  further  amount  of  fresh 
water,  was  treacherously  taken  and  sixteen  of  his 
company  slain.  It  was  just  one  further  source  of 
discomfort  for  Lancaster  now  to  have  lost  his  ship's 
master  and  more  of  his  crew.  So  thence,  "  with 
heavie  hearts/5  the  Edward  sailed  for  Zanzibar, 
where  they  learnt  that  the  Portuguese  had  already 
warned  the  natives  of  the  character  of  Englishmen, 
in  making  out  that  the  latter  were  "  cruell  people  and 
men-eaters,  and  willed  them  if  they  loved  safetie  in 
no  case  to  come  neere  us.  Which  they  did  onely  to 
cut  us  off  from  all  knowledge  of  the  state  and 
traffique  of  the  countrey." 

The  jealousy  of  the  Portuguese  was  certainly  very 
great :  they  were  annoyed,  and  only  naturally,  that 


86  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

another  nation  should  presume  to  burst  into  the  seas 
which  they  had  been  the  first  of  Europeans  to  open. 
Off  this  coast,  from  Melinda  to  Mozambique,  a 
Portuguese  admiral  was  cruising  in  a  small  "  fri- 
gate "  —that  is  to  say,  a  big  galley-type  of  craft  pro- 
pelled by  sails  and  oars.  And  had  this  "  frigate  }i 
been  strong  enough  she  would  certainly  have  assailed 
Lancaster's  ship,  for  she  came  into  Zanzibar  to 
"  view  and  to  betray  our  boat  if  he  could  have  taken 
at  any  time  advantage." 

It  was  whilst  riding  at  anchor  here  that  another 
electric  storm  sprung  the  Edward's  foremast,  which 
had  to  be  repaired — "  fished,"  as  sailors  call  it— with 
timber  from  the  shore.  And,  to  add  still  more  to 
Lancaster's  bad  luck,  the  ship's  surgeon,  whilst 
ashore  with  the  newly  appointed  master  of  the  ship, 
looking  for  oxen,  got  a  sunstroke  and  died.  But  the 
sojourn  in  that  anchorage  came  to  an  end  on  isth 
February.  The  progress  of  this  voyage  had  been 
slow,  but  it  had  been  sure.  Relying  on  what  charts 
he  possessed,  and  then,  after  rounding  the  Cape  of 
Good  Hope,  practically  coasting  up  the  African 
shore  until  reaching  Zanzibar,  he  had  wisely  re- 
mained here  some  time.  For  this  was  the  port 
whence  the  dhows  traded  backwards  and  forwards 
across  the  Indian  Ocean  and  the  East,  and  it  must 
be  remembered  that  the  Arabs  were  skilled  navi- 
gators and  very  fine  seamen,  who  had  been  making 
these  ocean  voyages  for  centuries,  whilst  English- 
men were  doing  little  more  than  coasting  passages. 
Zanzibar  was  clearly  the  place  where  Lancaster 
could  pick  up  a  good  deal  of  valuable  knowledge 
regarding  the  voyage  to  India,  and,  incidentally,  he 
took  away  from  here  a  certain  negro  who  had  come 


THE  ROUTE  TO  THE  EAST  87 

from  the  East  Indies  and  was  possessed  of  know- 
ledge of  the  country. 

From  Goa  to  Zanzibar  the  Arabian  ships  were 
wont  to  bring  cargoes  of  pepper,  and  it  was  now 
Lancaster's  intention  to  cut  straight  across  the  Indian 
Ocean  and  make  Cape  Comorin — the  southernmost 
point  of  the  Indian  peninsula — as  his  land-fall.  He 
then  meant  to  hang  about  this  promontory,  because 
it  was  to  the  traffic  of  the  East  what  such  places  as 
Ushant  and  Dungeness  to-day  are  to  the  shipping  of 
the  West.  He  knew  that  there  was  plenty  of  ship- 
ping bound  from  Bengal,  the  Malay  Straits,  from 
China  and  from  Japan  which  would  come  round  this 
cape  well  laden  with  all  sorts  of  Eastern  riches.  He 
would  therefore  lie  in  wait  off  this  headland  and, 
attacking  a  suitable  craft,  would  relieve  her  of  her 
wealth.  But  the  intention  did  not  have  the  oppor- 
tunity of  being  fulfilled  as  he  had  wished  it.  "  In 
our  course/5  says  Lancaster,  "  we  were  very  much 
deceived  by  the  currents  that  set  into  the  Gulfe  of 
the  Red  Sea  along  the  coast  of  Melinde  " — that  is 
to  say,  from  Zanzibar  along  the  coast  known  to-day 
as  British  East  Africa  and  Somaliland.  "  And  the 
windes  shortening  upon  us  to  the  North-east  anH 
Easterly,  kept  us  that  we  could  not  get  off,  and  so 
with  the  putting  in  of  the  currents  from  the  West- 
ward, set  us  in  further  unto  the  Northward  within 
fourescore  leagues  of  "  Socotra,  which  was  "  farre 
from  our  determined  course  and  expectation." 

Therefore,  as  they  had  been  brought  so  far  to 
the  northward  of  their  course,  Lancaster  decided 
that  it  were  best  to  run  into  Socotra  or  some  port  in 
the  Red  Sea  for  fresh  supplies ;  but,  luckily  for  him, 
the  wind  then  came  north-west,  which  was  of  course 


38  THE  OLD  EAST  INBIAMEN 

a  fair  wind  from  his  present  position  to  the  south- 
west coast  of  India.  Being  a  wise  leader  he  of  course 
now  availed  himself  of  this  good  fortune  and  sped 
over  the  Indian  Ocean  towards  Cape  Comorin,  when 
the  wind  came  southerly  :  but  presently  the  wind 
came  again  more  westerly,  and  so  in  the  month  of 
May  1592  the  Cape  was  doubled,  but  without  having 
sighted  it,  and  then  a  course  was  laid  for  the  Nicobar 
Islands  in  the  Bay  of  Bengal.  But  though  they  ran 
on  for  six  days  with  a  fair  wind,  and  plenty  of  it, 
"  these  Hands  were  missed  through  our  masters 
default  for  want  of  due  observation  of  the  South 
starre."  It  would  be  easy  enough  to  criticise  the 
lack  of  skill  in  the  Elizabethan  navigators,  but  it 
is  much  fairer  to  wonder  rather  that  they  were  able 
to  find  their  way  as  well  as  they  did  over  strange 
seas,  considering  that  until  comparatively  recently  it 
was  to  them  practically  a  new  art.  Excellent  seamen 
they  certainly  had  been  for  centuries  :  but  it  was  not 
till  long  after  Prince  Henry  the  Navigator  had 
taught  his  own  countrymen,  that  this  new  sea- 
learning  of  navigation  had  reached  England  and 
"  pilots-major  "  instructed  our  seamen  in  the  higher 
branch  of  their  profession.  They  were  keen,  they 
were  adventurous,  and  they  knew  no  fear  :  but  these 
mariners  were  rude,  unscientific  men,  who  could  not 
always  be  relied  upon  to  make  observations  accur- 
ately. They  Hid  the  best  they  could  with  their  astro- 
labes and  cross-staffs,  but  they  lacked  the  perfection 
of  the  modern  sextant.  The  most  they  could  hope 
for  was  to  make  a  land-fall  not  too  distant  from 
where  they  wanted  to  get,  and  then,  having  picked 
up  the  land,  keep  it  aboard  as  far  as  possible.  Thus 
they  would  approach  their  destined  port,  off  which, 


THE  ROUTE  TO  THE  EAST  39 

by  means  of  parleying  with  one  of  the  native  craft, 
they  might  persuade  one  of  the  crew  to  come  aboard 
and  so  pilot  them  in. 

As  the  Edward  Bonaventme  had  missed  the 
Nicobar  Islands,  it  was  decided  to  push  on  to  the 
southward,  which  would  bring  them  into  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Sumatra.  There  they  lay  two  or  three 
days,  hoping  for  a  pilot  from  Sumatra,  which  was 
only  about  six  miles  off.  And  subsequently,  as  the 
winter  was  approaching,  they  made  for  the  Islands 
of  Pulo  Pinaou,  which  they  reached  in  June,  and 
there  remained  till  the  end  of  August.  Many  of  the 
crew  had  again  fallen  sick,  and  though  they  put 
them  ashore  at  this  place,  twenty-six  more  of  them 
[died.  Nor  were  there  many  sources  of  supplies,  but 
only  oysters,  shell-fish  and  the  fish  "  which  we  tooke 
with  our  hookes."  But  there  was  plenty  of  timber, 
and  this  came  in  very  useful  for  repairing  masts. 
When  the  winter  passed  and  again  they  put  to  sea, 
the  crew  was  now  reduced  to  thirty-three  men  and 
one  boy,  but  not  more  than  twenty-two  were  fit  for 
service,  and  of  these  not  more  than  one-third  were 
seamen :  so  the  Edward  was  scarcely  efficient. 

But  those  which  remained  must  have  been  of  a 
resolute  character,  for  in  a  little  while  they  en- 
countered a  6o-ton  ship,  which  they  attacked  and 
captured,  and,  shortly  after,  a  second  was  also  taken. 
Needless  to  say,  the  cargoes  of  pepper  were  (dis- 
charged into  the  Edward,  and  even  the  sick  men 
were  soon  reported  as  "  being  somewhat  refreshed 
and  lustie."  Lancaster  had  not  by  any  means  for- 
gotten the  fact  that  richly  laden  ships  from  China 
and  Japan  would  pass  through  the  Malacca  Straits, 
and  having  arrived  here  he  lay-to  and  waited.  At 


40  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

the  end  of  five  days  a  Portuguese  sail  was  descried, 
laden  with  rice,  "  and  that  night  we  tooke  her  being 
of  250  tunnes."  This  was  a  big  ship  for  those  days, 
and  so  Lancaster  determined  to  keep  her  as  well  as 
her  cargo.  He  therefore  put  on  board  a  prize  crew 
of  seven,  under  the  command  of  Edmund  Barker. 
The  latter  then  came  to  anchor  and  hung  out  a 
riding-light  so  that  the  Edward  could  see  her 
position.  But  the  English  ship  was  now  so  depleted 
of  men  that  there  were  hardly  enough  men  on  board 
to  handle  her,  and  the  prize  had  to  send  some  of  the 
men  back  to  help  her  to  make  up  the  leeway.  It  was 
then  decided  to  take  out  of  the  prize  all  that  was 
worth  having,  and  afterward,  with  the  exception  of 
the  Portuguese  pilot  and  four  other  men,  she  and 
her  crew  were  allowed  to  go. 

But  it  was  not  long  before  the  Edward  fell  in  with 
a  much  bigger  ship,  this  time  of  700  tons,  which  was 
on  her  way  from  India.  She  had  left  Goa  with  a 
most  valuable  cargo,  and  a  smart  engagement  ended 
in  her  main-yard  being  shot  through,  whereupon  she 
came  to  anchor  and  yielded,  her  people  escaping 
ashore  in  the  boats.  Lancaster's  men  found  aboard 
her  some  brass  guns,  three  hundred  butts  of  wine, 
"  as  also  all  kind  of  Haberdasher  wares,  as  hats,  red 
caps  knit  of  Spanish  wooll,  worsted  stockings  knit, 
shooes,  velvets,  taffataes,  chamlets,  and  silkes, 
abundance  of  suckets,  rice,  Venice  glasses,"  playing- 
cards  and  much  else.  But  trouble  was  brewing  in 
the  Edward,  and  a  mutinous  spirit  was  afoot.  Lan- 
caster's men  refused  to  obey  his  orders  and  bring 
the  "  excellent  wines  "  into  the  Edward,  so,  after 
taking  out  of  her  all  that  he  fancied,  he  then  let  the 
prize  drift  out  to  sea. 


THE  ROUTE  TO  THE  EAST  41 

From  there  the  Edward  sailed  to  the  Nicobar 
Islands,  and  afterwards  proceeded  to  Punta  del 
Galle  (Point  de  Galle,  Ceylon),  where  she  anchored. 
Lancaster's  intention  was  again  to  lie  in  wait  for 
shipping.  He  knew  that  more  than  one  fleet  of 
richly  laden  merchantmen  would  soon  be  due  to 
pass  that  way.  First  of  all  he  was  expecting  a  fleet 
of  seven  or  eight  Bengal  ships,  and  then  two  or  three 
more  from  Pegu  (to  the  north-west  of  Siam);  and 
also  there  ought  to  be  some  Portuguese  ships  from 
Siam.  These,  he  had  learned,  would  pass  that  way 
in  about  a  fortnight,  bringing  the  produce  of  the 
country  to  Cochin  (in  the  south-west  of  India),  where 
the  Portuguese  caracks,  or  big  merchantmen,  would 
receive  the  goods  and  carry  them  home  to  Lisbon. 
It  was  a  regular,  yearly  trade,  the  caracks  being  due 
to  leave  Cochin  in  the  middle  of  January.  A  fine 
haul  was  certain,  for  these  various  fleets  were  bring- 
ing all  sorts  of  commodities  that  were  well  worth 
having — cloth,  rice,  rubies,  diamonds,  wines  and  so 
on. 

But  Lancaster  was  again  bound  to  bow  to  ill-luck. 
First  of  all,  he  had  brought  up  where  the  bottom  was 
foul,  so  he  lost  his  anchor.  He  had  on  board  two 
spare  anchors,  but  they  were  unstocked  and  in  the 
hold.  This  meant  that  a  good  deal  of  time  was 
wasted,  and  meanwhile  the  ship  was  drifting  about 
the  whole  night.  In  addition,  to  make  matters  worse, 
Lancaster  himself  fell  ill.  The  current  was  carrying 
the  ship  to  the  southward,  away  from  her  required 
position,  so  in  the  morning  the  foresail  was  hoisted 
and  preparations  were  being  made  to  let  loose  the 
other  sails,  when  the  men  mutinied  and  said  they 
were  determined  they  would  remain  there  no  longer 


42  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

but  would  take  the  ship  to  England  direct.     Lan- 
caster, rinding  that  persuasion  was  useless  and  that 
he  could  do  nothing  with  them,  had  no  other  alterna- 
tive but  to  give  way  to  their  demands  :  so  on  8th 
December  1592  the  Edward  set  sail  for  the  Cape  of 
Good  Hope.    On  the  way  Lancaster  recovered  his 
health,  and  even  amused  himself  fishing  for  bonitos. 
By  February  they  had  crossed  the  Indian  Ocean  and 
made  the  land  by  Algoa  Bay,  South  Africa,  where 
they  had  to  remain  a  month  owing  to  contrary  winds. 
But  in  March  they  doubled  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope 
once  more,  and  on  3rd  April  reached  St  Helena. 
And  here  an  extraordinary  thing  happened.    When 
Edmund  Barker  went  ashore  he  found  an  English- 
man named  Segar,  like  himself  of  Suffolk.    He  had 
been    left    here    eighteen    months    before    by    the 
Marchant  Roy  all,  which  you  will  remember  had  been 
sent  home  from  Table  Bay  on  the  way  out.    On  the 
way  home  he  had  fallen  ill  and  would  have  died  if 
he  had  remained  on  board,  so  it  had  been  decided  to 
put  him  ashore.    When,  however,  the  Edward's  men 
saw  him  this  time,  he  was  "  as  fresh  in  colour  and  in 
as  good  plight  of  body  to  our  seeming  as  might  be, 
but  crazed  in  minde  and  halfe  out  of  his  wits,  as 
afterward  wee  perceived  :  for  whether  he  were  put  in 
fright  of  us,  not  knowing  at  first  what  we  were, 
whether  friends  or  foes,  or  of  sudden  joy  when  he 
understood  we  were  his  olde  consorts  and  countrey- 
men,  hee  became  idel-headed,  and  for  eight  dayes 
space  neither  night  nor  day  tooke  any  naturall  rest, 
and  so  at  length  died  for  lacke  of  sleepe." 

On  1 2th  April  1593  the  Edward  left  St  Helena, 
and  the  mutinous  spirit  was  not  yet  dead  on  board. 
Lancaster's  intention  was  to  cross  the  Atlantic  to 


., 


y 


THE  ROUTE  TO  THE  EAST  43 

Pernambuco,  Brazil,  but  the  sailors  were  infuriated 
and  wished  to  go  straight  home.  So,  the  next  day, 
whilst  they  were  being  told  by  the  captain  to  finish 
a  foresail  which  they  had  in  hand,  some  of  them 
asserted  determinedly  that,  unless  the  ship  were  taken 
straight  home,  they  would  do  nothing  :  and  to  this 
Lancaster  was  compelled  to  agree.  But  when  they 
were  about  eight  degrees  north  of  the  Equator  the 
ship  made  little  progress  for  six  weeks  owing  to 
calms  and  flukey  winds.  Meanwhile  the  men's 
victuals  were  running  short,  and  the  mutinous  spirit 
reasserted  itself  strongly.  They  knew  that  the 
officers  of  the  ship  had  their  own  provisions  locked 
away  in  private  chests — this  had  been  done  as  a 
measure  of  precaution — and  the  men  now  threatened 
to  break  open  these  chests.  Lancaster  therefore 
determined,  on  the  advice  of  one  of  the  ship's  com- 
pany, to  make  for  the  Island  of  Trinidad  in  the 
West  Indies,  where  he  would  be  able  to  obtain 
supplies.  But,  being  ignorant  of  the  currents  of  the 
Gulf  of  Paria,  he  was  carried  out  of  his  course  and 
eventually  anchored  off  the  Isle  of  Mona  after  a  few 
days  more. 

After  refreshing  the  stores  and  stopping  a  big 
leak,  the  Edward  next  put  to  sea  bound  for  New- 
foundland, but  a  heavy  gale  sent  them  back  to  Porto 
Rico,  the  wind  being  so  fierce  that  even  the  furled 
sails  of  the  ship  were  carried  away,  and  the  ship  was 
leaking  badly,  with  six  feet  of  water  in  the  hold. 
The  victuals  had  run  out,  so  that  they  were  com- 
pelled to  eat  hides.  Small  provisions  were  obtained 
at  Porto  Rico,  and  then  five  of  the  crew  deserted. 
From  there  the  ship  went  to  Mona  again,  and  whilst 
a  party  of  nineteen  were  on  shore,  including  Lan- 


44  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

caster  and  Barker,  to  gather  food,  a  gale  of  wind 
sprang  up,  which  made  such  a  heavy  sea  that  the 
boat  could  not  have  taken  them  back  to  the  Edward. 
It  was  therefore  deemed  wiser  to  wait  till  the  next 
day  :  but  during  the  night,  about  midnight,  the  car- 
penter cut  the  Edward's  cable,  so  that  she  drifted 
away  to  sea  with  only  five  men  and  a  boy  on  board. 
At  the  end  of  twenty-nine  days  a  French  ship,  after- 
wards found  to  be  from  Dieppe,  was  espied.  In 
answer  to  a  fire  made  on  shore  she  dowsed  her  top- 
sails, approached  the  land,  hoisted  out  her  ensign 
and  came  to  anchor.  Some  of  the  Edwards  crew, 
including  Barker  and  Lancaster,  went  aboard,  but 
the  rest  of  the  party  to  the  number  of  seven  could  not 
be  found.  Six  more  were  taken  on  board  another 
Dieppe  ship  and  so  reached  San  Domingo,  where 
they  traded  with  the  people  for  hides.  Here  news 
reached  them  of  their  companions  left  in  Mona.  It 
was  learnt  that,  of  the  seven  men  there  left,  two  had 
broken  their  necks  while  chasing  fowls  on  the  cliffs, 
three  were  slain  by  Spaniards  upon  information 
given  by  the  men  who  went  away  in  the  Edward,  but 
the  remaining  two  now  joined  Lancaster  by  a  ship 
from  another  port. 

Eventually  Lancaster  and  his  companions  took 
passage  aboard  another  Dieppe  vessel,  and  arrived 
at  the  latter  port  after  a  voyage  of  forty-two  days. 
They  then  crossed  in  a  smaller  craft  to  Rye,  where 
they  landed  on  24th  May  1594. 

What  good,  then,  had  this  expedition  done?  In 
spite  of  losing  two  out  of  the  three  ships,  in  spite  of 
the  losses  of  many  men  and  the  whole  of  the  rich 
cargoes  which  had  been  obtained  by  capture,  Lan- 
caster and  his  companions  had  returned  to  England 


THE  ROUTE  TO  THE  EAST  45 

with  something  worth  having.  How  had  English 
trade  with  India  been  benefited?  The  answer  is 
simple.  If  nothing  tangible  had  been  obtained,  this 
expedition  had  been  a  great  lesson.  If  it  had 
brought  back  no  spices  or  diamonds,  it  had  brought 
much  valuable  information.  Once  again  it  showed 
to  the  English  merchants  that  there  was  a  fortune 
for  all  of  them  waiting  in  the  Orient,  and  it  showed 
by  bitter  experience  the  mistakes  that  must  be 
avoided.  The  voyage  had  been  begun  at  the  wrong 
season  of  the  year ;  it  would  have  to  be  better  thought 
out,  and  better  provision  would  have  to  be  taken 
to  guard  against  scurvy.  The  route  to  India  was 
now  well  understood,  and  it  was  no  longer  any  Portu- 
guese secret.  England  was  just  on  the  eve  of  sharing 
with  the  Portuguese  their  fortunate  discovery,  which 
eventually  the  latter  were  to  lose  utterly  to  the 
former. 


CHAPTER   V 

THE   FIRST  EAST  INDIA  COMPANY 

ALTHOUGH  the  expe'dition  of  those  three  tall  ships 
related  in  the  previous  chapter  had  been  commer- 
cially such  a  dismal  failure,  it  had  shown  that  James 
Lancaster  was  the  kind  of  man  to  whom  there  should 
be  entrusted  the  leadership,  not  only  of  a  single  ship, 
but  of  an  entire  expedition.  With  the  greatest  diffi- 
culty he  had  prevented  his  unruly  crew  from  ex- 
cesses, he  had  taken  his  ship  most  of  the  way  round 
the  world,  he  had  shown  that  he  could  put  up  a  good 
fight  when  needs  be,  and  that  he  possessed  a  capacity 
for  finding  out  information — a  most  valuable  ability 
in  these  the  first  days  of  Indian  voyaging.  He  had 
obtained  information  about  winds,  tides,  currents, 
places,  peoples  and  trade.  He  had  got  to  know 
where  the  Portuguese  ships  were  usually  to  be  found, 
where  they  started  from  and  at  what  times  of  the 
year.  Clearly  he  was  just  the  man  for  the  big  ex- 
pedition which  was  shortly  to  start  from  England, 
after  but  a  few  years'  interval. 

'We  mentioned  on  an  earlier  page  the  travels  of 
Ralph  Fitch  to  India,  though  even  prior  to  his  setting 
forth  another  Englishman  named  Thomas  Stevens 
had  been  to  the  East.  This  was  in  the  year  1579, 
and  although  he  was  the  first  of  our  countrymen  to 

46 


THE  FIRST  EAST  INDIA  COMPANY          47 

reach  India,  yet  he  went  out  in  a  Portuguese  ship, 
and  is  therefore  entirely  indebted  to  the  Portuguese 
for  having  reached  there  at  all.     He  had  first  pro- 
ceeded from  England  to  Italy,  and  then  made  his 
way  from  that  country  to  Portugal.    Having  arrived 
in  Lisbon,  he  went  aboard  and  started  eight  days 
later  when  the  Portuguese  East  Indian  fleet  sailed 
out.    This  was  towards  the  beginning  of  April,  which 
was  very  late  for  their  sailing,  but  important  business 
had  detained  them.    Five  ships  proceeded  together, 
bound  for  Goa,  with  many  mariners,  soldiers,  women 
and  children,  the  starting  off  being  a  solemn  and 
impressive  occasion,  accompanied  by  the  blowing  of 
trumpets  and  the  booming  of  artillery.    Proceeding 
on  their  way  via  the  Canaries  and  Cape  Verde,  they 
rounded  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  and  afterwards 
steered  to  the  north-east.     And  then  occurred  just 
that  very  incident  which  afterwards  we  have  seen 
was  to  happen  to  Lancaster.     Not  knowing  the  set 
of  the  currents  they  got  much  too  far  to  the  north- 
ward and  found  themselves  close  to  Socotra  (at  the 
entrance    to    the    Gulf    of    Aden),    whereas    they 
imagined  they  were  near  to  India.     But  eventually, 
having  sailed  many  miles,  and  noticed  birds  in  the 
sky   which    they    knew    came    from    their    desired 
country,  and  then  having  seen  floating  branches  of 
palm-trees  they  realised  that  they  were  now  not  far 
from  their  destination,  and  so  on  24th  October  they 
arrived  at  Goa. 

Stevens  had  watched  the  Portuguese  navigators 
closely,  and  he  had  marvelled  that  these  ships  could 
find  their  way  over  the  trackless  ocean.  "  You 
know,"  he  wrote  to  his  father  in  England,  telling  him 
all  about  the  voyage,  "  you  know  that  it  is  hard  to 


48  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

saile  from  East  to  West,  or  contrary,  because  there 
is  no  fixed  point  in  all  the  skie,  whereby  they  may 
direct  their  course,  wherefore  I  shall  tell  you  what 
helps  God  provide  for  these  men.  There  is  not  a 
f  owle  that  appereth  or  signe  in  the  aire,  or  in  the  sea, 
which  they  have  not  written,  which  have  made  the 
voyages  heretofore.  Wherefore,  partly  by  their 
owne  experience,  and  pondering  withall  what  space 
the  ship  was  able  to  make  with  such  a  winde,  and 
such  direction,  and  partly  by  the  experience  of 
others,  whose  books  and  navigations  they  have,  they 
gesse  whereabouts  they  be,  touching  degrees  of 
longitude,  for  of  latitude  they  be  alwayes  sure." 

It  was  a  real  difficulty  in  those  early  Indian  ships 
to  ascertain  their  longitude  with  any  correctness. 
Longitude  was  reckoned  from  the  meridian  of 
St  Michael,  one  of  the  Azores,  on  the  grounds  that 
there  was  no  variation  of  the  compass  there.  It  was 
not,  in  fact,  till  the  chronometer  was  invented  in  the 
latter  half  of  the  eighteenth  century  that  the  difficulty 
could  be  overcome.  But  these  early  East  Indiamen 
were  by  no  means  devoid  of  the  instruments  of  navi- 
gation, which  included  an  astrolabe  and  cross-staff, 
as  already  mentioned,  a  celestial  globe,  a  terrestrial 
globe,  a  calendar,  a  universal  horologe  for  finding  the 
hour  of  the  day  in  every  latitude,  a  nocturne  labe  for 
telling  the  hour  of  the  night,  one  or  more  compasses, 
a  navigation  chart  corrected  according  to  the  last 
voyagers  who  had  used  it :  and,  a  little  later  on, 
printed  charts,  as  well  as  a  general  map. 

But  whilst  Lancaster  had  been  away  from  Eng- 
land on  his  voyage  to  the  East,  Englishmen  at  sea 
had  fallen  in  with  two  of  the  Portuguese  East  Indian 
caracks — the  Santa  Cruz  and  the  Madre  de  Dios — 


THE  FIRST  EAST  INDIA  COMPANY          49 

homeward-bound  from  Goa.  The  former  had  been 
burnt  and  the  latter  taken  into  Dartmouth.  When 
she  arrived  in  that  port  her  immense  size  and  wealth 
made  a  great  sensation.  Even  in  Elizabethan  money 
the  value  was  assessed  at  ,£15,000.  She  was  of  no 
less  than  1600  tons  and  chock-full  of  Oriental  trea- 
sures, with  about  six  or  seven  hundred  souls  aboard, 
and  armed  with  thirty-two  brass  guns.  This  wonder- 
ful East  Indiaman  had,  besides  a  number  of  precious 
stones,  a  cargo  consisting  of  spices,  drugs,  silks, 
calicoes,  quilts,  carpets,  canopies,  pearls,  ivory, 
Chinese  ware  and  hides.  In  fact  when  all  this  cargo 
was  taken  out  of  her  in  Dartmouth  and  sent  by  sea  to 
London,  it  freighted  ten  coasters.  As  you  can  well 
imagine,  these  west-country  seamen  were  careful  to 
note  all  her  details  when  once  they  had  her  in  port. 
She  was  completely  surveyed,  and  found  to  be  165 
feet  long,  and  46  feet  10  inches  wide,  and  drew  26 
feet,  though  when  she  left  India  she  was  drawing 
31  feet.  She  had  seven  decks  at  the  stern,  the  length 
of  the  keel  being  100  feet,  the  height  of  the  mast 
121  feet,  and  the  length  of  the  main-yard  106  feet. 

The  consternation  caused  by  the  sight  of  the  won- 
derful goods  which  eventually  arrived  at  Leadenhall, 
London,  fired  the  imaginations  of  the  London 
merchants  afresh.  When,  in  September  1592,  they 
observed  the  vast  quantities  of  pepper,  nutmeg, 
cloves,  cinnamon,  ginger,  incense,  damasks,  golden 
silks,  and  saw  with  their  own  eyes  the  very  goods 
which  had  come  all  the  way  from  that  Eastern  land  of 
wealth,  they  marvelled  greatly.  One  of  the  results 
of  all  this  was  that  the  Levant  Company,  which  had 
been  founded  in  1581  to  trade  with  Turkey  and  the 
eastern  ports  of  the  Mediterranean,  now  became 


50  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

expanded  into  a  more  ambitious  venture.  Realising 
full  well  the  amazing  riches  of  the  East  Indies,  it 
succeeded  in  obtaining  from  Elizabeth,  in  1593,  a 
charter  to  trade  now  with  India,  but  via  the  overland 
route. 

In  passing  we  may  just  say  a  word  about  the 
English  trading  companies,  some  of  which  were  of 
great  antiquity.  The  oldest  was  the  Hamburg  Com- 
pany, which  consisted  of  English  merchants  trading 
to  Calais,  Holland,  Zealand,  the  Low  Countries,  the 
Baltic  and  the  inhabitants  of  modern  Prussia.  It 
had  been  first  incorporated  by  Edward  I.  in  1296, 
and  enjoyed  special  privileges  during  successive 
reigns.  There  was  also  the  Russian  Company,  which 
had  been  inaugurated  at  the  end  of  the  reign  of 
Edward  VI.  and  the  beginning  of  the  reign  of  Philip 
and  Mary,  though  its  charter  was  received  from 
Queen  Elizabeth.  This  company  had  arisen  from 
the  enterprise  of  a  number  of  English  merchants, 
who  had  sent  three  ships  to  find,  if  possible,  a  north- 
east passage  into  Asia  and  the  East.  So,  also,  the 
Turkey  or  Levant  Company,  mentioned  just  now, 
had  been  founded  in  1581  with  a  view  of  trading  to 
the  part  of  the  world  designated.  All  these  various 
companies  were  just  so  many  societies  of  merchant- 
adventurers  who  were  bound  together  with  one  com- 
mon interest  by  the  royal  charter.  But  the  greatest 
of  all  was  to  be  the  celebrated  East  India  Company, 
founded  in  1600,  about  which  we  shall  speak  pres- 
ently, though  we  may  sufficiently  anticipate  matters 
by  asserting  that  it  grew  out  of  the  Levant  Company. 

But  England  was  by  no  means  to  have  the  whole 
field  to  herself.  If  the  Portuguese  power  was  in  the 
descendant :  if  her  precious  secrets  of  this  East 


THE  FIRST  EAST  INDIA  COMPANY         51 

Indian  trade  had  been  ruthlessly  revealed  :  if  her 
ships  and  her  rich  cargoes  had  been  repeatedly  taken 
with  the  same  determination  that  the  Armada  had 
been  defeated ;  yet  she  was  still  active  in  India,  and 
the  only  European  nation  there  established.  How- 
ever, not  merely  England,  but  Holland,  too,  had 
been  growing  strong  in  maritime  ability.  The  Dutch 
people  had  always  been  by  nature  seamen  for  cen- 
turies, and  were  able  to  rival  any  English  ability  in 
the  maritime  arts.  They  were  intrepid  mariners, 
they  were  excellent  shipbuilders,  and  they  were  care- 
ful students  of  all  the  sea-knowledge  which  had 
come  forth  from  Portugal.  The  influence  of  Prince 
Henry's  cartographical  school  had  spread  north- 
wards from  Sagres,  and  Flemish  printers  had  done 
much  for  map-making  and  thus  made  known  this 
knowledge  of  the  world  far  and  wide.  This  was  the 
final  blow  to  the  closely  guarded  Portuguese  secrets 
of  India.  The  first  atlas  ever  printed  was  published 
by  the  Dutch  at  Ley  den  in  the  year  1585.  The  man 
to  whom  belongs  the  credit  of  this  was  named 
Wagenaer,  and,  according  to  the  crude  knowledge 
and  the  still  more  elementary  buoyage,  the  Narrow 
Seas  were  well  shown.  The  charts  which  Holland 
published  were  also  brought  out  in  English,  together 
with  little  sketches  of  the  various  headlands,  their 
latitude,  distances,  and  so  on,  including  sailing  direc- 
tions for  entering  various  harbours.  So  also  at  Ant- 
werp and  at  Bruges  excellent  schools  of  cartography 
grew  up  just  as  they  had  in  Portugal  and  Spain  : 
and  fired  with  the  amazing  stories  of  the  East,  Hol- 
land was  not  merely  anxious  but  well  prepared  for 
asserting  herself  in  India  and  coming  back  with  a 
series  of  rich  cargoes  for  those  prepared  to  venture. 


52  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

Briefly,  this  was  brought  about  as  follows.  We 
mentioned  on  an  earlier  page  that  though  the  Portu- 
guese jealously  guarded  the  secret  of  the  India  route, 
they  were  quite  willing  to  dispose  of  these  Indian 
goods.  One  of  these  marts,  to  which  merchants  came 
from  other  countries  in  order  to  purchase,  was  Lis- 
bon. The  second  was  Antwerp,  which  was  con- 
venient for  the  merchants  of  Northern  Europe. 
England,  by  the  way,  had  done  a  good  deal  of 
overseas  trade  between  London  and  Antwerp  for 
centuries,  so  this  additional  East  Indian  trade  made 
the  visits  of  our  merchantmen  even  more  important, 
and  thus  many  first  realised  what  India  meant  com- 
mercially, and  could  mean  to  them.  And  similarly 
the  people  of  the  Low  Countries  became  equally 
impressed  with  what  they  learned.  Thus  very 
naturally  we  see  in  1593 — the  actual  year  in  which 
the  Levant  Company  had  obtained  their  extended 
charter — the  first  of  a  series  of  efforts  made  by 
Dutchmen  to  reach  Asia  by  a  north-east  passage. 
And  we  must  not  omit  to  mention  the  very  great 
influence  which  Jan  Huygen  von  Linschoten,  a 
native  of  Haarlem,  had.  The  latter  was  a  great 
student  of  geography,  at  a  time  when  all  knowledge 
of  this  kind  was  rare.  For  a  while  he  was  resident 
in  Lisbon,  where  he  amassed  a  large  amount  of  in- 
valuable data  concerning  the  East — its  harbours, 
configuration,  trade-winds,  and  so  on.  Lisbon,  in 
fact,  was  just  the  place  in  which  all  the  East  Indian 
information  naturally  collected  itself.  Later  on 
Linschoten  himself  proceeded  to  India  and  dwelt  at 
Goa,  in  the  train  of  the  Portuguese  Archbishop,  but 
in  the  year  1592  he  returned  to  Europe,  and  the  tales 
which  this  traveller  told  concerning  India  astonished 


THE  FIRST  EAST  INDIA  COMPANY          53 

the  slow-reasoning  minds  of  his  fellow-countrymen. 
In  the  year  1596  he  published  a  most  valuable  book 
'dealing  with  the  East,  affording  charts  and  maps  and 
no  end  of  information  which  would  be  priceless  to 
any  who  might  venture  on  a  voyage  to  India.  An 
English  translation  appeared  two  years  later,  and  it 
certainly  had  a  great  influence  on  the  founding  of  our 
first  East  India  Company.  So  important  was  the 
book,  indeed,  that  it  was  also  translated  and  pub- 
lished in  French,  in  Latin  and  German. 

As  for  Holland,  the  tangible  result  was  that  four 
ships  were  fitted  out,  and  under  Cornelis  Houtman 
were  sent  in  1595  to  the  countries  situate  the  other 
side  of  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  beyond  the  Indian 
Ocean.  Houtman's  voyage  had  been  a  success,  for 
in  the  year  1597  he  returned,  bringing  with  him  a 
treaty  made  with  the  King  of  Bantam,  which  was  the 
means  of  opening  up  to  Holland  the  Indian  Archi- 
pelago. This  voyage  convinced  even  the  most  scep- 
tical, and  a  new  era  had  begun,  in  which  Holland  was 
to  grow  rich  and  powerful,  a  great  commercial 
country  and  of  considerable  strength  at  sea.  The 
handsome  seventeenth-century  buildings  which  you 
still  find  standing  in  Holland  to-day,  and  the  bril- 
liant seventeenth-century  Dutch  painters  of  portraits 
and  shipping  scenes,  are  surviving  evidences  of  a 
wonderful  prosperity  derived  for  the  most  part  from 
the  East  India  trade  of  that  time. 

It  came  about,  then,  that  England  was  to  find  a 
keen  rival  for  the  possessions  of  the  East.  There 
was  going  to  be  a  very  hard  struggle  as  to  which 
would  win  the  race.  One  voyage  succeeded  another, 
so  that  actually  the  Dutch  were  wanting  in  big  craft 
and  had  to  come  over  to  England  to  buy  up  some  of 


54  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

our  shipping.  But  this  was  the  final  straw  which 
broke  the  back  of  Englishmen's  patience.  They  ha'd 
looked  on  for  some  time  with  restraint  at  the  pro- 
gressive enterprise  of  the  Dutch,  and  hacj  become 
very  jealous  of  their  commercial  prosperity.  It  was 
a  condition  to  which  the  present  Anglo-German 
rivalry  is  very  similar  in  kind.  But  it  was  clear  some- 
thing must  be  done  now.  The  London  merchants 
who  were  interested  in  the  Levant  Company  had 
found  that  their  charter  of  extension  granted  in  1593 
for  overland  trading  with  India  availed  them  but 
little.  Therefore,  arising  out  of  this  company  it 
happened  that  a  number  of  merchants  met  together 
in  London  in  the  year  1599  and  agreed  to  petition 
Elizabeth  for  permission  to  send  a  number  of  well- 
found  ships  to  the  East  Indies,  for  which  they 
prayed  a  monopoly,  subscribing  the  sum  of  ,£30,133 
for  an  East  Indian  voyage.  It  was  certainly  high 
time  to  be  moving,  for  the  Dutch  were  gaining  all 
the  foreign  freight — they  were  nicknamed  the 
"  waggoners  of  the  sea  "  —whilst  English  ships  were 
rotting  away  in  port,  or  doing  little  more  than  mere 
coasting. 

This  petition  was  not  approved  by  the  Privy 
Council,  but  in  the  year  1609,  anH  on  the  last  day  in 
that  year,  it  received  the  Queen's  assent.  More 
capital  had  been  obtained,  the  exclusive  privilege  of 
this  Indian  trade  had  been  granted  for  fifteen  years, 
so  there  was  nothing  to  do  but  obtain  the  necessary 
ships  and  men  and  hurry  on  the  fitting-out.  The 
Company  was  managed  by  twenty-four  directors, 
under  the  governorship  of  Alderman  James  Smith,  who 
was  subsequently  knighted,  but  altogether  there  were 
two  hundred  and  eighteen  of  these  merchants,  alder- 


3  I 

^     o 


THE  FIRST  EAST  INDIA  COMPANY          55 

men,  knights  and  esquires,  who  were  made  up  by  the 
title  of  "  The  Governors  and  Company  of  the  Mer- 
chants trading  unto  the  East  Indies."  The  coun- 
tries prescribed  by  this  charter  showed  a  rather 
extended  area,  embracing  all  ports,  islands  and 
places  in  Asia,  Africa,  America,  between  the  Cape 
of  Good  Hope  and  the  Straits  of  Magellan.  The 
Company  were  promised  that  neither  the  Queen  nor 
her  heirs  would  grant  trading-licences  within  these 
limits  to  any  person  without  the  consent  of  the  Com- 
pany :  and  the  Company  was  furthermore  granted 
the  privilege  of  making  the  first  four  voyages  with- 
out export  duty,  and  the  permission  was  further 
granted  to  export  annually  the  sum  of  ;£  30,000  in 
bullion  or  coin. 

This  "  privilege  for  fifteen  yeeres  "  "  to  certaine 
Adventurers  for  the  discoverie  of  the  Trade  for  the 
East-Indies  "  was  to  be  a  spirited  reply  to  the  action 
of  the  Dutch,  and  marks  the  beginning  of  that  series 
of  English  East  India  companies  which  were  in 
effect  the  means  of  acquiring  India  for  the  British 
crown  after  the  Indian  Mutiny  in  the  nineteenth 
century.  From  now  onwards  the  East  Indiamen 
ships  have  a  standing  and  importance  which  were 
not  previously  possessed,  and  we  shall  find  this  cul- 
minating in  the  amazingly  dignified  manner  of  the 
Indian  merchantmen  in  the  early  part  of  the  nine- 
teenth century. 

Among  those  who  had  agreed  together  for  this 
expedition  "  at  their  owne  adventures,  costs  and 
charges  as  well  for  the  honour  of  this  Our  Realme 
of  England,  as  for  the  increase  of  Our  Navigation, 
and  advancement  of  trade,"  was  the  Earl  of  Cumber- 
land. He  was  one  of  those  Elizabethan  gentlemen 


56  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

who  were  wont  to  fit  out  a  small  squadron  of  ships 
for  roving  the  seas  and  attacking  the  well-laden  ships 
of  the  Spanish  and  Portuguese.  It  was  a  fine,  ad- 
venturous game  and  there  was  a  good  chance  of 
coming  home  with  a  fortune.  Of  those  ships  which 
the  noble  earl  owned  for  this  purpose  one  was  a  craft 
named  the  Red  Dragon,  and  as  she  was  built  for 
fighting  and  ocean  cruising  she  was  just  the  ship  for 
the  first  voyage  of  the  East  India  Company,  being 
of  600  tons.  She  was  therefore  purchased  from  her 
owner  by  this  Company  for  the  sum  of  ^3700.  Her 
name  at  one  time  had  been  the  Mare  Scourge  (per- 
haps to  suggest  the  terror  of  the  sea  which  was  thus 
exhibited),  but  at  any  rate  in  the  year  1586  she  was 
known  as  the  Red  Dragon. 

Under  their  charter  the  Company  were  allowed  to 
send  "  sixe  good  ships  and  sixe  good  pynnaces  "  and 
"  five  hundred  Mariners,  English-men,  to  guide  and 
sayle."  But  not  more  than  four  ships  were  sent 
actually,  for  it  was  a  costly  venture.  These  London 
merchants  had  "  joyned  together  and  made  a  stocke 
of  seventie  two  thousand  pounds,  to  bee  employed 
in  ships  and  merchandizes  " ;  but  the  purchase  of 
four  ships,  the  expense  of  fitting  them  out,  furnish- 
ing them  with  men,  victuals  and  munitions  for  a 
period  of  twenty  months  had  eaten  up  the  sum  of 
;£  45,000.  This  left  ,£27,000,  which  amount  was 
taken  out  in  the  ships,  partly  in  merchandise  (with 
which  to  traHe  in  Asia)  and  partly  in  Spanish  money, 
with  which  the  natives  would  be  familiar.  Advance 
wages  were  paid  to  the  crew  before  setting  forth.  \ 

The  "  Generall  of  the  Fleet  "  was  that  saline 
James  Lancaster  whom  we  considered  just  now,  and 
his  flagship  was  to  be  the  Red  Dragon.  There  was 


THE  FIRST  EAST  INDIA  COMPANY          57 

no  better  leader  for  the  job,  and  the  reader  will 
shortly  see  how  well  he  conducted  himself  in  condi- 
tions that  were  not  less  trying  than  in  his  previous 
voyage  to  the  East.  To  him  Elizabeth  entrusted 
letters  of  commendation  addressed  to  "  divers 
Princes  of  India,"  the  vice-admiral  being  John 
Middleton ;  and  the  celebrated  John  Davis,  of  Arctic 
fame,  was  to  go  as  pilot-major,  or  navigating  expert 
— another  excellent  man  for  the  undertaking.  After 
a  busy  winter  the  four  ships  were  ready  and  fitted 
out,  so  that  on  I3th  February  1601  they  were  able 
to  leave  Woolwich,  their  crews  amounting  to  480. 
In  addition  to  the  Red  Dragon  there  were  the 
Hector,  of  300  tons  and  108  men;  the  Ascension, 
260  tons  and  82  men;  the  Susan  (which  had  been 
bought  from  a  London  alderman  for  ;£i6oo),  240 
tons  and  88  men;  and  in  addition  they  took  a 
victualling  ship  called  variously  the  Guift  or  Guest. 
The  latter  was  a  ship  of  130  tons,  but  had  cost  only 
/30Q. 

In  their  holds  these  ships  carried  such  English 
products  as  were  likely  to  be  appreciated  in  the  East. 
Such  commodities  were  taken  as  iron,  lead,  tin, 
cloth;  while  the  presents  to  be  given  to  the  Indian 
princes  comprised  a  girdle,  a  case  of  pistols,  plumes, 
looking-glasses,  platters,  spoons,  glass  toys,  spec- 
tacles, drinking-glasses  and  a  plain  silver  ewer.  But 
the  progress  of  this  squadron  was  distinctly  slow. 
From  the  Thames  they  had  dropped  down  to  the 
mouth  and  anchored  in  the  Downs.  Here  they 
waited  so  long  for  a  fair  wind  that  already  it  was 
Easter  Day  before  they  reached  Dartmouth,  where 
they  "  spent  five  or  sixe  dayes  in  taking  in  their 
bread  and  certaine  other  provisions,"  as  one  of  the 


58  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

letters  received  by  the  East  India  Company  has  it. 
Leaving  Dartmouth  they  "  hoysed  their  anchors  " 
and  sped  across  the  Bay  of  Biscay,  and  continued  to 
the  south.  Off  the  coast  of  Guinea  they  fell  in  with 
a  Portuguese  vessel,  which  they  captured,  and  from 
her  they  took  much  wine,  oil  and  meal  for  the  good 
of  the  squadron. 

During  the  month  of  June  they  crossed  the 
Equator,  and  in  the  following  month  discharged  the 
Guest  victualler — that  is  to  say,  they  took  out  of  her 
the  masts,  sails  and  yards  and  whatever .  else  was 
worth  keeping,  and  then  broke  down  her  "  higher 
buildings  for  firewood,  and  so  left  her  rioting  in  the 
sea/5  And  now  scurvy  attacked  many  of  the  squad- 
ron's crew,  so  that  there  were  hardly  men  enough  to 
handle  the  sails.  Even  the  "  merchants  tooke  their 
turnes  at  the  Helme  :  and  went  into  the  top  to  take 
in  the  top-sayles,  as  the  common  Mariners  did." 
However,  on  the  Qth  of  September  1601  they  arrived 
at  Saldanha  (Table  Bay),  where  they  anchored  and 
"  hoysed  out  their  boats."  (There  were  of  course  no 
such  things  as  boat  davits  in  those  days,  the  boats 
being  lifted  out  from  the  waist  of  the  ship  by  blocks 
and  ropes.)  But  so  weak  were  the  crews  of  three  of 
the  ships  that  Lancaster's  crew  had  to  go  aboard  the 
other  craft  and  do  the  work  of  getting  these  boats 
into  the  sea. 

How  was  it,  then,  that  the  flagship's  crew  had  kept 
so  free  from  scurvy  and  were  in  better  health  than 
the  other  men?  The  answer  is  that  Lancaster  had 
learnt  a  lesson  from  the  terrible  death-roll  which  this 
disease  had  caused  in  his  previous  voyage  already 
noted.  "  The  reason,"  runs  the  document,  "  why 
the  Generals  men  stood  better  in  health  then  the  men 


THE  FIRST  EAST  INDIA  COMPANY          59 

of  other  Ships  was  this  :  he  brought  to  sea  with  him 
certaine  Bottles  of  the  Juice  of  Limons,  which  hee 
gave  to  each  one,  as  long  as  it  would  last,  three 
spoonfuls  every  morning  fasting  :  not  suffering  them 
to  eate  any  thing  after  it  till  noone.  This  Juice 
worketh  much  better,  if  the  partie  keepe  a  short 
Dyet,  and  wholly  refrains  salt  meate,  which  salt 
meate,  and  long  being  at  the  sea  is  the  only  cause  of 
the  breeding  of  this  Disease.  By  this  meanes  the 
Generall  cured  many  of  his  men,  and  preserved  the 
rest."  Considering  this  practical  proof  of  the  value 
of  lime  juice  as  an  anti-scorbutic,  it  is  surprising  that 
it  was  not  till  many  years  later  lime  juice  was,  as  it 
is  to-day,  always  carried  in  English  ships  and  given 
out  to  the  men,  especially  in  wind-jammers. 

After  allowing  the  men  shore  leave  and  laying  in 
very  necessary  provisions,  the  squadron  got  under 
way  and  left  again  on  29th  October,  doubling  the 
Cape  of  Good  Hope  on  the  ist  of  November, 
"  having  the  wind  West  North-west  a  great  gale." 
Madagascar  was  reached  on  1 7th  December,  and  they 
remained  there  until  6th  March.  Actually  they  did 
not  even  sight  India,  but  held  on  across  the  Indian 
Ocean  until  they  reached  those  Nicobar  Islands 
visited  in  the  previous  voyage.  A  short  stay  was 
made  and  then  they  pushed  on  tcfane  southward  till 
they  came  to  Acheen,  which  is  at  the  north-west 
extremity  of  Sumatra,  arriving  there  on  the  5th  of 
June  1602.  Here  Lancaster  was  entertained  hospit- 
ably by  some  of  the  Dutch  factors  who  had  already 
established  themselves,  and  also  obtained  a  con- 
cession from  the  King  of  Acheen  granting  freedom 
of  trade  and  immunity  from  paying  customs.  Thus 
a  beginning  was  made,  if  not  actually  with  India, 


60  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

at  any  rate  with  a  part  of  the  East  Indies.  Trade 
between  England  and  the  Orient  was  established, 
only  to  be  developed  in  the  years  that  were  to  follow. 
In  order  to  proceed  with  their  trade,  Lancaster  put 
ashore  two  of  the  factors  who  had  come  out  with 
him  from  England,  these  employing  their  time  now  in 
getting  together  a  cargo  of  pepper  against  the  date 
of  Lancaster's  return.  Meanwhile  the  squadron 
sailed  from  Acheen  on  nth  September  1602,  and 
then  engaged  in  that  favourite  occupation  of  roving 
about  till  some  well-filled  merchantman  fell  into  his 
hands,  relieving  her  then  of  her  valuable  cargo. 
Strictly  speaking,  as  the  reader  is  aware,  this  ex- 
pedition to  the  East  Indies  had  been  fitted  out  for 
the  purpose  of  opening  up  trade.  But  no  Eliza- 
bethan sailor  could  content  himself  with  such  lawful 
limits.  Privateering  was  in  his  blood  :  he  was  always 
spoiling  for  a  fight  at  sea,  especially  against  any 
Spanish  or  Portuguese  ship.  It  was  a  much  quicker 
way  of  winning  wealth  and,  incidentally,  of  paying 
back  old  scores  to  the  people  who  had  tried  to  keep 
Englishmen  out  of  the  strange  seas  of  the  world. 
And  Lancaster  was  a  sufficiently  good  strategist  to 
know  that  if  he  selected  some  pivot  of  a  busy  trade- 
route,  such  as  some  narrow  straits,  all  that  he  had 
to  do  was  to  hang  about  there  long  enough  and  it 
was  only  a  question  of  time  as  to  whether  a  big  haul 
would  be  made.  He  could  rely  implicitly  on  his 
own  men  and  their  gunnery,  even  against  superior 
strength.  It  only  wanted  the  opportunity,  and  that, 
again,  demanded  merely  a  little  patience. 
"""  So  whilst  his  factors  were  busy  at  Acheen  buying  a 
cargo,  he  betook  himself  to  the  Straits  of  Malacca, 
the  gateway  for  the  shipping  which  voyaged  between 


THE  FIRST  EAST  INDIA  COMPANY          61 

the  Pacific  and  the  Indian  Ocean;  and  before  long 
he  had  descried  a  fine  Portuguese  craft  of  900  tons 
called  the  St  Thome.  It  was  a  little  unfortunate 
that  the  day  was  nearly  spent,  as  that  meant  that  the 
enemy  might  possibly  escape  under  cover  of  dark- 
ness. "  And  being  toward  night,"  wrote  one  who 
was  there  at  the  time,  "  a  present  direction  was  given 
that  we  should  all  spread  our  selves  a  mile  and  a 
halfe  one  from  another,  that  she  might  not  passe 
us  in  the  night."  So  the  four  English  ships  did  as 
the  admiral  wished  them.  The  Hector  shot  two  or 
three  "  peeces  of  ordnance,"  and  this  warned  the 
other  three  ships,  who  now  closed  in  and  surrounded 
the  Portuguese  carack  on  all  sides.  Then  the  Red 
Dragon  began  to  fire  at  her  from  the  bow  guns,  with 
the  satisfactory  result  that  the  carack's  main-yard 
came  tumbling  down. 

That  was  deemed  enough  for  the  present :  it 
would  be  better  to  wait  till  the  night  had  passed, 
thought  Lancaster,  for  he  feared  "  least  some  un- 
fortunate shot  might  light  betweene  wind  and  water, 
and  so  sinke  her,"  which  would  mean  that  her  valu- 
able cargo  would  be  for  ever  lost.  He  therefore 
stayed  his  hand  for  a  little  while  :  but  next  morning 
at  daybreak  he  again  attacked  and  this  time  took  the 
prize.  Only  four  of  Lancaster's  men  were  placed  on 
board,  "  for  feare  of  rifling  and  pillaging  the  good 
things  that  were  within  her  .  .  .  and  their  charge  was, 
if  any  thing  should  be  missing,  to  answer  the  same 
out  of  their  wages  and  shares."  For  he  knew  full 
well  that  when  once  a  band  of  these  rough  seamen 
were  aboard  they  would  stop  at  nothing,  and  no 
threats  could  prevent  them  from  helping  themselves 
to  the  rare  cargo  in  the  holds. 


62  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

So  full  was  this  St  Thome  of  Eastern  goods  that 
it  took  six  days  to  unload  her  of  her  950  packs  of 
calicoes,  etc.  And  then,  as  a  storm  came  up,  she 
had  to  be  left  behind,  so  Lancaster  returned  to 
Acheen,  and  took  in  his  cargo  of  pepper,  cinnamon 
and  spices,  together  with  a  letter  and  presents  from 
the  King  of  Acheen  to  Elizabeth.  He  then  set  sail 
for  Bantam,  in  the  Island  of  Java,  on  the  gth  of 
November,  and  soon  after  sent  home  to  England  the 
Ascension  and  the  Susan,  which  had  completed  their 
cargoes.  In  the  meantime  Lancaster  continued  his 
cruise  with  the  Dragon  and  Hector,  and  arrived  at 
Bantam,  "  in  the  island  of  Java  major/5  which  he 
reached  on  the  i6th  of  December.  Here,  as  was  the 
routine  of  the  venture,  he  put  his  merchants  ashore 
with  their  goods  and  began  trade  with  the  natives. 
And  although  the  English  reckoned  the  Javanese 
"  among  the  greatest  pickers  and  theeves  of  the 
world/5  yet  our  merchants  were  able  to  do  some  very 
good  business;  and  so  again  the  ships  were  laden 
with  cargoes  of  pepper,  and  a  regular  factory  was 
here  established  for  further  trade  between  England 
and  the  East.  Lancaster  had  as  fine  an  ability  for 
trading  enterprise  as  he  had  for  capturing  a  Portu- 
guese ship,  and  he  obtained  a  4<D-ton  pinnace  laden 
with  merchandise,  which  was  sent  to  the  Moluccas 
to  trade  and  establish  a  factory  there,  in  charge  of 
Master  William  Starkey.  When  the  next  English 
ships  should  come  out  they  would  thus  find  immedi- 
ate opportunity  for  getting  rid  of  their  lead,  iron,  tin, 
cloth,  and  another  cargo  waiting  to  be  taken  on 
board. 

Such,  then,  was  the  completion  of  the  business  in 
the  Orient.  The  first  voyage  under  the  East  India 


THE  FIRST  EAST  INDIA  COMPANY          63 

Company  had  done  its  work  in  the  East  Indies.  It 
had  got  there  in  safety,  it  had  established  factories, 
it  had  disposed  of  its  freights  and  obtained  very 
valuable  goods  to  take  home.  It  had  certainly  been 
fortunate,  the  only  real  calamity  being  the  sickness 
and  death  of  Captain  John  Middleton  of  the  Hector. 
It  was  a  long  period  since  they  had  set  out  from  the 
Thames,  and  the  time  had  now  arrived  when  they 
must  weigh  their  anchors  and  start  back  to  England  : 
so  early  in  the  new  year  they  took  on  board  stores 
and  made  their  final  preparations  for  the  long  voy- 
age back  over  lonely  seas. 


CHAPTER  VI 

CAPTAIN  LANCASTER  DISTINGUISHES  HIMSELF 

ON  the  20th  of  February  the  two  ships  were  ready 
for  sea.  "  We  went  all  aboord  our  ships,  shot  off  our 
ordnance,  and  set  sayle  to  the  sea  toward  England, 
with  thankes  to  God,  and  glad  hearts,  for  his  bless- 
ings towards  us."  On  the  I3th  of  March  they  crossed 
the  Tropic  of  Capricorn,  steering  south-west  "  with 
a  stiff  gale  of  wind  at  south-east,"  and  this  was 
sending  them  over  the  Indian  Ocean  towards  the 
African  coast  in  fine  style.  But  "  the  eight  and 
twentieth  day  we  had  a  very  great  and  a  furious 
storme,  so  that  we  were  forced  to  take  in  all  our 
sayles.  This  storme  continued  a  day  and  a  night, 
with  an  exceeding  great  and  raging  sea,  so  that  in 
the  reason  of  man  no  shippe  was  able  to  live  in 
them  :  but  God  (in  his  mercie)  ceased  the  violence 
thereof,  and  gave  us  time  to  breath  :  and  to  repaire 
all  the  distresses  and  harmes  we  had  received,  but 
our  ships  were  so  shaken,  that  they  were  leakie  all 
the  voyage  after." 

This  was,  in  fact,  to  be  a  return  full  of  excitement 
and  those  serious  incidents  which  bring  out  all  the 
seamanship  and  resource  of  the  real  sons  of  the  sea. 
If  it  be  true  that  a  man's  real  character  is  exhibited 
only  in  big  crises,  then  we  see  Lancaster  standing 

64 


CAPT.  LANCASTER  DISTINGUISHES  HIMSELF  65 

out  magnificently  as  a  cool,  resourceful,  self- 
sacrificing  leader  of  men,  for  whom  we  cannot  help 
having  the  highest  admiration.  These  Elizabethans 
were  very  far  from  perfect.  They  were  guilty  of 
some  abominable  and  atrocious  acts  of  sacrilege  on 
occasions :  their  hatred  of  the  Portuguese  and 
Spaniards  knew  few  bounds.  They  imagined  that 
might  on  the  sea  was  right,  and  honesty  was  deemed 
not  always  the  best  policy.  But  among  their  virtues 
they  were  the  very  opposite  of  cowards.  They  knew 
how  to  bear  all  kinds  of  pain  with  a  courage  and 
resignation  that  are  to  be  extolled.  And  if  things 
went  against  them  they  knew  how  to  die  as  bravely 
as  they  had  fought  and  striven.  There  was  no  panic, 
no  kicking  against  the  inevitable  :  they  did  their  best, 
and  according  to  their  own  rough  morality  left  the 
rest  to  God. 

Another  "  very  sore  storme  "  overcame  them  on 
the  3rd  of  May,  "  and  the  seas  did  so  beate  upon  the 
ships  quarter,  that  it  shooke  all  the  iron  worke  of  her 
rother  [i.e.  rudder]  :  and  the  next  day  in  the  morn- 
ing, our  rother  brake  cleane  from  the  sterne  of  our 
shippe  [i.e.  the  Red  Dragon],  and  presently  sunke 
into  the  sea/'  Here  was  a  terrible  predicament,  for 
of  all  the  casualties  which  can  befall  a  ship  at  sea 
not  one  is  more  awkward  than  this.  And  to-day  only 
the  steamship  with  more  than  one  propeller  can  con- 
tinue on  her  way  without  worrying  much  about  such 
an  occurrence.  If,  however,  the  vessel  is  a  sailing 
ship,  or  has  only  one  propeller,  the  only  recourse  is 
to  tow  a  spar  or  sea-anchor  (cone  foremost)  with  a 
rope  from  each  quarter.  Then,  if  an  equal  strain  is 
kept  on  both  ropes,  the  spar  will  be  thus  in  line  with 
the  ship's  keel,  but  as  soon  as  one  rope  is  slacked  up 


66  THE  OLD  EAST  INBIAMEN 

and  another  tightened,  the  vessel's  quarter  will  be 
pulled  to  one  side  and  her  head  pay  off  to  the 
opposite. 

Let  us  now  see  what  they  attempted  in  the  Dragon. 
You  will  of  course  understand  that  the  rudder  was 
attached  to  the  stern-post  by  means  of  irons  on 
either  side  of  the  former,  these  working  on  their 
respective  pins  attached  to  the  stern-post.  Conse- 
quently, if  these  irons  carried  away,  either  through 
rust  or  the  violence  of  the  waves,  there  was  nothing 
to  hold  the  rudder  in  place  and  the  ship  was  not 
under  command.  This  is  exactly  what  habl  happened 
in  the  present  instance,  and  the  means  of  steering 
was  vanished.  Naturally,  therefore,  the  Dragon 
"  drave  up  and  downe  in  the  sea  like  a  wracke,"  but 
all  the  while  the  Hector  stood  by,  though  unable  to 
do  anything.  At  length  the  commander  of  the 
Dragon  decided  to  do  exactly  what  the  master  of  a 
modern  sailing  vessel  would  set  about.  Her  mizen- 
mast  was  unstepped,  and  they  then  "  put  it  forth  at 
the  sterne  port  to  prove  if  wee  could  steere  our 
shippe  into  some  place  where  we  might  make  another 
rother  to  hang  it,  to  serve  our  turnes  home."  The 
spar  was  placed  over  the  side  and  lashed  to  the 
stern,  but  it  was  found  to  put  such  a  heavy  strain  on 
the  latter  that  the  mast  had  to  be  brought  on  board 
again. 

Lancaster  then  ordered  the  ship's  carpenter  to 
make  the  mast  into  a  rudder,  for  in  those  days-  the 
shape  of  the  latter  was  very  long  and  narrow :  but 
when  they  wanted  to  fix  it  in  position  it  was  noticed 
that  the  rudder  irons  "  wherewith  to  fasten  the 
rother  "  had  also  gone.  However  they  were  not  to 
be  dismayed  by  this  very  inconvenient  discovery, 


CAPT.  LANCASTER  DISTINGUISHES  HIMSELF  67 

and  were  determined  to  do  what  they  could.  One  of 
the  crew  accordingly  went  overboard  to  make  an 
examination,  and  found  that  two  of  the  rudder  irons 
were  still  remaining  and  that  there  was  one  other 
broken.  This  was  a  slice  of  luck,  so,  when  the 
weather  eased  down  a  little  later,  the  new  rudder 
was  able  to  be  fixed  into  position  and  once  more  the 
Dragon  got  on  to  her  course.  However,  this  good 
fortune  was  but  short-lived,  and  after  three  or  four 
hours  "the  sea  tooke  it  off  againe,  and  wee  had  much 
adoe  to  save  it.  Wee  lost  another  of  our  irons,  so 
that  now  we  had  but  two  to  hang  it  by.55 

Matters  began  to  look  pretty  desperate  by  now, 
the  men  wanted  to  abandon  the  ship  and  be  picked 
up  by  the  Hector,  and  the  position  of  Lancaster  was 
no  easy  one.  On  the  one  hand,  he  knew  that  they 
could  not  continue  like  this,  making  no  headway  and 
with  provisions  running  out  and  a  dissatisfied  crew 
against  him.  On  the  other  hand,  he  was  responsible 
to  the  East  India  Company  for  the  safety  of  the  ship 
and  all  that  valuable  cargo  that  was  in  her  hold.  It 
was  sheer  hard  luck  that  for  the  second  time  in  his 
life  he  should  be  returning  from  the  Orient  well 
laden  with  riches,  only  to  be  brought  up  short  by  an 
unexpected  event  that  boded  ill.  Still,  he  was  not 
the  type  of  man  to  give  way  in  such  a  critical  time, 
and  he  for  his  part  was  going  to  stand  by  his  ship, 
whatever  else  might  happen.  He  appreciated  quite 
fully  the  seriousness  of  the  case,  and  yet  for  all  that 
he  was  prepared  to  go  through  with  it.  There  must 
be  no  sort  of  flinching. 

He  went  below  into  the  privacy  of  his  cabin,  and 
unknown  to  the  crew  sat  down  and  wrote  the  follow- 
ing letter,  having  resolved  to  give  it  to  the  captain 


68  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

of  the  Hector,  sending  her  home  at  once,  and  on  her 
arriving  back  to  have  this  letter  handed  over  to  the 
directors  of  the  Company.  This  epistle  read  thus  : 

"  RIGHT  WORSHIPFULL, — What  hath  passed  in 
this  voyage,  and  what  trades  I  have  settled 
for  this  companie,  and  what  other  events  have 
befallen  us,  you  shall  understand  by  the 
bearers  hereof,  to  whom  (as  occasion  hath 
fallen)  I  must  referre  you.  I  will  strive  with  all 
diligence  to  save  my  ship,  and  her  goods,  as  you 
may  perceive  by  the  course  I  take  in  venturing  mine 
own  life,  and  those  that  are  with  mee.  I  cannot  tell 
where  you  should  looke  for  mee,  if  you  send  out  any 
pinnace  to  seeke  mee  :  because  I  live  at  the  devotion 
of  the  wind  and  seas.  And  thus  fare  you  well,  desir- 
ing God  to  send  us  a  merrie  meeting  in  this  world, 
if  it  be  his  good  will  and  pleasure. 

1  The  passage  to  the  East  India  lieth  in  62^ 
degrees,  by  the  North  West  on  the  America  side. 
Your  very  loving  friend, 

"  JAMES  LANCASTER." 

Such  was  the  brief,  matter-of-fact,  intensely  prac- 
tical letter  which  he  indited — the  very  letter  which 
we  should  have  expected  from  a  leader  of  this  type. 
He  succeeded  presently  in  getting  it  put  aboard  the 
Hector,  with  the  order  to  her  captain  to  proceed. 
Night  came  on  and  when  the  morning  broke  Lan- 
caster little  expected  to  find  his  "  chummy  ship  5! 
still  by  his  side.  But  he  had  forgotten  that  the 
Hector's  commander  was  a  man  like  himself,  and 
being  a  real  good  fellow  he  declined  to  leave  a 
friend  in  distress,  even  though  it  was  disobeying  the 


CAPT.  LANCASTER  DISTINGUISHES  HIMSELF   69 

orders  of  his  admiral.  So  with  excellent  seamanship 
the  Hector  was  kept  at  a  reasonable  distance  from 
the  Dragon,  determined  to  stand  by.  Meanwhile  the 
Dragoris  carpenter  had  got  to  work  again  and 
the  rudder  liaH  been  repaired.  As  if  to  encourage 
them,  the  weather  after  two  or  three  days  began  to 
get  better,  and  the  sea  to  go  down.  The  admiral 
therefore  made  a  signal  ordering  the  Hector  to  come 
nearer.  This  she  did,  and  then  her  master,  Sander 
Cole  by  name,  was  able  to  come  aboard  the  flagship, 
bringing  with  him  the  best  swimmer  in  the  ship,  and 
the  best  divers.  These  men  were  of  the  greatest 
assistance,  and  did  their  work  round  the  stern  of  the 
ship  to  such  good  effect  that  the  rudder  was  event- 
ually hung  again  on  the  two  remaining  hooks.  It 
was  a  triumph  of  patience,  persistence  and  pluck, 
that  the  Dragon  was  able  once  again  to  go  ahead  and 
let  her  sheets  draw. 

But  all  this  time  things  on  board  had  been  very  try- 
ing. The  ship  had  been  buffeted  about  ceaselessly  by 
many  storms  for  week  after  week.  Men  had  fallen 
sick  and  the  ship  could  not  be  worked  as  she  ought. 
However,  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  was  roundeH,  and 
then  there  had  to  be  endured  the  weary,  agonising 
experience  of  being  becalmed.  Still  they  knew  "  by 
the  height  wee  were  in  to  the  Northward  "  that  they 
had  long  since  passed  the  dreaded  Cape  of  storms. 
Just  one  more  casualty  convinced  them  that  they 
were  not  yet  out  of  danger,  and  this  occurred  when 
the  main-yard  fell  down  and  knocked  a  man  into 
the  sea,  drowning  him. 

But  on  the  5th  of  June  they  passed  the  Tropic  of 
Capricorn,  and  on  the  sixteenth  of  that  month 
sighted  St  Helena,  where  they  let  go  in  twelve 


70  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

fathoms.    Here  they  took  on  board  fresh  water,  shot 
some  wild  goats  and  hogs,  refitted  the  ships  and 
inspected  the  Dragon's  rudder,  "  which  wee  hoped 
would  last  us  home."     During  the  sojourn  here  all 
the  sick  recovered  their  health,  and  on  the  5th  of 
July  they  set  out  again  to  the  north-west.    Five  days 
more  they  were  becalmed,  but  before  that  they  had 
succeeded  in  passing  Ascension,  on  nth  July,  and 
then  fell  in  with  a  favourable  south-east  wind.    Thus 
they  proceeded  until  the  7th  of  September,  when 
they  imagined  themselves  near  to  home.      c  Wee 
tooke  sounding,  judging  the  Lands  end  of  England 
to  be  fortie  leagues  from  us.    The  eleventh  day  we 
came  to  the  Downes,  well  and  safe  to  an  anchor : 
for  the  which,  thanked  be  almightie  God,  who  hath 
delivered  us  from  the  infinite  perils  and  dangers,  in 
this  long  and  tedious  Navigation."    Thus  the  voyage 
which  had  been  begun  on  I3th  February  1601  was 
now  brought  to  a  finish  on  nth  September  1603.    It 
had  been  a  most  successful  voyage,  and  1,030,000 
Ib.  of  pepper  had  been  brought  to  England  by  these 
four  ships.     But,  important  as  that  was  to  the  mer- 
chants, still  more  admirable  was  the  achievement  of 
Lancaster  in  getting  his  ship  home  at  all.    However, 
he  was  not  to  go  without  his  reward.     He  had  had 
the  responsibility  of  bringing  this  first  voyage  of  the 
English  East  India  Company  to  a  conclusion  that 
was  as  happy  as  financially  it  was  successful,  and  he 
was  granted  a  knighthood  by  James  I.    Those  who 
had  invested  their  money  in  this   concern   could 
scarcely  regret  their  decision,  for  they  eventually 
received  95  per  cent,  on  their  capital,  and  it  was  now 
established  beyond  doubt  that  henceforth  the  East 
Indian  trade  was  the  thing  for  enterprising  London 


CAPT.  LANCASTER  DISTINGUISHES  HIMSELF  71 

merchants.  For  a  hundred  years  the  Portuguese 
had  kept  the  secret  to  themselves  and  succeeded  in 
preventing  other  countries  from  coming  as  inter- 
lopers. But  that  was  now  all  past  and  done  with. 
The  future  rested  not  with  the  Portuguese,  whose 
Indian  colonial  system  proved  to  be  an  utter  failure, 
but  with  the  English  or  the  Dutch,  between  whom 
the  contest  would  soon  become  keen.  For  already 
the  latter  had  formed  so  many  associations  for  trade 
that  by  the  year  1602  they  were  amalgamated  by 
the  States-General  into  one  corporation  entitled  the 
Dutch  East  India  Company. 

As  this  first  voyage  had  been  so  fortunate,  it  was 
not  long  before  a  second  was  inaugurated  by  the 
English  East  India  Company.  During  that  winter 
preparations  went  ahead,  and  on  the  following  Lady 
Day  1604  another  expedition  left  Gravesend,  this 
time  under  the  leadership  of  Henry  Middleton,  a 
kinsman  of  the  Middleton  who  had  died  during 
Lancaster's  voyage.  This  project  consisted  of  the 
same  ships  as  before,  and  these  duly  arrived  at 
Bantam  on  the  2Oth  of  December.  From  here  two 
of  the  ships  were  sent  home — namely,  the  Hector 
and  the  Susan,  eight  months  ahead  of  the  other 
couple,  which  proceeded  first  to  the  Moluccas  before 
leaving  Bantam  finally  for  England.  Middleton 
found  that  trading  was  not  quite  as  easy  as  it  might 
be,  for  the  Dutch  gave  him  a  great  deal  of  opposition 
in  the  East.  However,  you  will  realise  that  this 
second  voyage  was  far  from  being  a  failure  when  it 
is  stated  that  the  profits  were  just  under  100  per  cent, 
to  those  who  had  raised  the  capital.  And  this  in  spite 
of  the  fact  that  the  Susan  was  lost  on  her  way  home. 
It  is  a  singular  coincidence  that  when  this  ship  had 


72  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

been  purchased,  as  already  noted  in  the  preceding 
chapter,  from  a  London  alderman  at  the  price  of 
,£1600,  the  condition  was  that  he  should  buy  her 
back  from  the  Company  at  the  end  of  the  voyage, 
for  half  the  purchase  price,  Middleton  had  reached 
the  Downs  on  6th  May  1606,  and  it  was  not  long 
before  preparations  began  to  be  made  for  next  year's 
voyage.  The  second  expedition  had  necessitated  a 
capital  of  ;£  60,000,  of  which  only  ^1142  had  been 
spent  in  goods,  so  you  will  understand  to  what 
extent  privateering  was  responsible  for  swelling  the 
profits. 

On  1 2th -March  1607  an  expedition  was  off  again, 
for  the  third  voyage.  This  time  the  sum  of  ,£53,000 
had  been  subscribed,  ^7280  being  expended  in 
merchandise  to  take  out.  There  were  only  three 
ships  on  the  present  occasion,  consisting  of  those  two 
veterans,  Red  Dragon  and  Hector,  and  a  vessel 
named  the  Consent,  of  105  tons.  The  "  General!  " 
in  this  case  was  Captain  Keeling.  The  latter  left 
England  on  I2th  March,  alone,  and  reached  the 
Moluccas.  Although  he  was  unable  to  obtain  a 
cargo  from  there,  yet  he  purchased  from  a  Java  junk 
a  cargo  of  cloves  for  ,£2948,  155.,  which  on  their 
arrival  in  England  fetched  the  considerable  sum  of 
^36,287.  The  reason  why  spices  of  the  East  were 
so  readily  bought  up  by  the  West  is  explained  at 
once  by  the  fact  that  a  great  demand  existed 
throughout  civilised  Europe  at  that  time  for  their 
employment  in  cookery  and  in  certain  expensive 
drinks. 

The  Dragon  and  Hector  had  left  the  Downs  on 
the  ist  of  April,  and,  like  those  previous  voyages 
which  we  have  noted,  they  again  went  round  the 


CAPT.  LANCASTER  DISTINGUISHES  HIMSELF  73 

Cape  of  Good  Hope  and  then  as  far  north-east  as 
Socotra,  where  the  two  ships  separated,  the  Dragon 
proceeding  to  Sumatra  and  Bantam,  while  the 
Hector  went  on  to  Surat,  just  north  of  Bombay. 
Thus,  at  last  and  for  the  first  time,  one  of  the  Com- 
pany's ships  had  brought  up  in  a  port  of  the  Indian 
continent,  as  distinct  from  those  East  Indian  islands 
which  had  been  previously  visited.  The  captain  of 
the  Hector  was  Hawkins,  whilst  the  Dragon  was 
under  the  command  of  Captain  Keeling.  Some 
historians  assert  that  Captain  Keeling  himself  went 
to  Surat,  where  he  landed  a  Mr  Finch  to  form  a 
factory,  and  then  sent  Captain  Hawkins  to  persuade 
the  Great  Mogul  at  Agra  to  order  his  officers  to  deal 
justly  with  the  English:  but  at  any  rate  Hawkins 
remained  ashore,  as  there  was  a  fine  opportunity  for 
inaugurating  a  big  business,  and  sent  the  Hector  on 
to  Bantam  to  join  Captain  Keeling.  Hawkins  had 
come  out  from  England  with  a  letter  from  King 
James  I.  to  the  Great  Mogul,  and  the  latter  promised 
to  grant  the  Company  all  the  privileges  asked  for. 
This  Indian  potentate  further  suggested  that  Haw- 
kins should  remain  at  his  Court  as  English  repre- 
sentative at  a  commencing  salary  of  ^3 200  a  year. 
This  offer  Hawkins  accepted,  but  not  unnaturally 
the  appointment  aroused  a  good  deal  of  jealousy 
both  among  the  Portuguese  and  the  officials  of  the 
Court.  In  a  little  time  the  Great  Mogul  had  re- 
gretted his  decisions  both  as  to  Hawkins  and  the 
East  India  Company.  The  Englishman  therefore 
was  compelled  to  leave  Agra  (minus  his  promised 
salary),  and  then  went  down  to  the  coast  again  at 
Surat.  As  to  the  privileges  which  had  been  promised 
to  the  Company,  these  also  vanished.  Trouble  was 


74  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

obviously  brewing.  But  this  third  voyage,  yielding 
a  profit  of  234  per  cent.,  had  not  by  any  means  been 
a  failure,  but  a  great  financial  success.  The  Dragon 
had  been  sent  home  with  a  good  cargo,  and  then 
Captain  Keeling  (this  time  in  the  Hector)  had  visited 
the  Moluccas  and  Bantam,  where  the  factory  had 
been  more  firmly  established,  subsequently  reaching 
England  on  9th  May  1610. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  the  original  charter 
granted  to  the  Company  by  Elizabeth  was  for  a 
period  of  fifteen  years.  But  in  the  year  1609  the 
Company  were  compelled  to  petition  James  I.  for  a 
renewal,  or  rather  for  much  greater  powers,  notwith- 
standing that  the  original  charter  had  still  six  years 
to  run.  The  reason  for  this  application  is  not  hard 
to  appreciate.  The  Portuguese  now  began  to  realise 
that  the  Englishmen  were  very  serious  rivals,  and 
they  must  be  met  by  force.  The  East  India  Com- 
pany, on  the  other  hand,  were  equally  determined 
that  they  would  not  give  up  such  a  valuable  trade 
that  had  paid  them  so  handsomely  during  these  few 
years.  Therefore  opposition  must  be  met  by  other 
force  :  in  other  words,  a  greater  number  of  ships 
would  be  required.  King  James  also  recognised 
this,  so  the  application  was  granted,  the  number  of 
merchant-adventurers  was  increased  from  218  to 
276,  the  Crown  to  have  the  power  of  repealing  the 
Company's  charter  after  three  years'  notice. 

So  three  new  ships  were  fitted  out  for  the  sixth 
voyage.  (There  had  in  the  meanwhile  been  two 
"  separate  "  voyages,  about  which  we  shall  speak 
presently.)  The  cost  of  these  three  new  ships, 
together  with  the  merchandise  which  they  carried 
out,  was  ,£82,000,  this  large  sum  being  rendered 


CAPT.  LANCASTER  DISTINGUISHES  HIMSELF  75 

possible  only  by  the  increased  members  of  the 
Company.  The  leader  of  this  voyage  was  that 
same  Henry  Middleton  whom  we  saw  taking  out  the 
second  voyage  :  but  since  that  time  he  had  received 
a  knighthood.  This  time  his  flagship  was  to  be  the 
Trade's  Increase.  And  as  this  was  one  of  the  most 
famous  of  all  the  seventeenth-century  ships,  and 
certainly  the  largest  East  Indiaman  built  up  till  then, 
we  must  say  something  about  her. 

At  the  time  of  her  launch  she  was  the  biggest 
merchantman  of  any  kind  that  had  been  built  in 
England.  She  created,  in  fact,  to  the  Jacobeans 
something  of  the  sensation  which  the  launch  of  the 
Mauretania  in  our  own  time  created.  James  I. 
attended  the  ceremony,  together  with  other  members 
of  the  royal  family,  and  attended  by  his  nobles. 
This  was  on  the  I3th  of  December  1609,  her  first 
voyage  being  due  to  commence  on  the  following  ist 
of  April.  In  consequence  of  the  high  position  which 
the  East  India  Company  had  now  begun  to  occupy, 
and  not  less  owing  to  the  phenomenal  size  of  this  ship, 
the  incident  was  made  the  most  of.  After  the  ship  was 
afloat  in  the  water,  the  King  and  his  retinue  were 
entertained  on  board  with  a  magnificent  dinner  pro- 
vided at  the  Company's  expense  and  served  on  some 
of  those  dishes  and  plates  of  China  ware  which  had 
been  brought  home  from  the  East  by  the  Company's 
ships  and  were  then  looked  upon  as  something  rare 
and  wonderful,  nothing  of  the  kind  having  yet  been 
seen  in  the  country.  But  the  Trade's  Increase,  with 
her  noo  tons,  was  a  clumsy,  unwieldy  ship  and 
somewhat  top-heavy.  She  was  anything  but  a  lucky 
craft,  and  we  shall  see  presently  that  her  end  was 
to  be  tragic.  For  English  shipbuilding  was  in  a 


76  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

transition  stage,  which  lasted  about  another  two 
hundred  years  or  more.  It  was  trying  hard  to  get 
away  from  the  unscientific,  rule-of-thumb  method 
which  had  come  down  from  the  Middle  Ages  and 
had  not  yet  come  under  the  influence  of  science  and 
the  principles  of  true  naval  architecture. 


\ 


CHAPTER  VII 


THE   BUILDING   OF   THE    COMPANY'S    SHIPS, 


Now,  before  we  proceed  with  the  further  voyages 
and  trading  of  these  Indiamen,  we  shall  find  it  very 
interesting  if  we  attempt  to  paint  the  picture  of  the 
building  of  these  ships.  Happily  the  data  handed 
down  are  of  such  a  nature  that  we  can  learn  prac- 
tically all  that  we  should  like  to  know  on  the  subject. 
The  reader  will  remember  that  the  ships  which 
went  on  the  first  and  second  voyages  had  been 
obtained  by  purchase.  But,  then,  since  it  was 
obvious  that  more  ships  would  be  required  as  the 
trade  increased  and  losses  occurred  by  wrecks,  the 
Company  had  to  look  out  for  additions  to  their  small 
fleet.  It  was  then  that  they  were  confronted  with  a 
big  problem.  First  of  all,  England  was  still  a  com- 
paratively new-comer  into  the  position  of  an  ocean- 
going shipowner,  as  distinct  from  Portugal,  Spain, 
Venice  and  Genoa.  Practically  all  her  shipping 
consisted  either  of  fishing  or  coasting  craft.  There- 
fore she  possessed  only  a  very  small  supply  of  what 
could  be  called  in  those  days  large  vessels.  This 
supply  had  been  still  further  depleted  by  the  pur- 
chases which  the  Dutch  East  India  companies  had 
made  from  English  owners  at  the  beginning  of  the 
East  Indian  boom.  The  result  was  that  those  very 

77 


78  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

few  big  ships  which  remained  in  England  were  at 
a  premium.  To  voyage  round  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope  and  across  the  Indian  Ocean,  able  to  fight 
stalwart  Portuguese  craft  and  to  carry  well  a  heavy 
cargo,  in  addition  to  provisions  for  many  months, 
demanded  a  big-bellied  ship  of  exceptional  strength ; 
and  that  was  why  the  Mare  Scourge  (which  had  been 
built  for  privateering)  was  just  the  thing. 

But  now  the  owners  of  the  small  amount  of  big 
shipping  tfiat  still  survived,  in  consequence  of  the 
big  financial  success  which  the  East  India  Company 
had  made  from  their  first  two  voyages,  were  deter- 
mined not  to  let  them  have  any  more  ships  except 
at  very  high  prices.  The  rates  which  these  sellers 
now  asked  were  preposterous — as  much  as  ^45  a 
ton  being  demanded.  The  East  India  Company, 
being  therefore  in  the  position  of  needing  ships  and 
yet  unable  to  purchase  such  at  a  reasonable  figure, 
were  compelled  to  decide  on  building  for  themselves. 
This  dates  from  the  year  1607,  and  a  yard  was 
leased  at  Deptford,  the  first  two  craft  thus  built 
being  the  Trade's  Increase,  mentioned  in  the  last 
chapter,  and  the  Peppercorn,  both  of  which  went  out 
under  Sir  Henry  Middleton  in  the  spring  of  1610. 
From  the  first  this  change  of  policy  was  found  to  be 
justified,  for  the  Company  was  able  to  build  their 
ships  at  £10  a  ton  instead  of  ^45,  which  meant 
the  very  handsome  saving  of  ,£38,500  in  the  case  of 
a  ship  the  size  of  the  Trade's  Increase — or  two  ships 
equal  to  her  tonnage. 

In  this  yard  before  very  long  the  Company  were 
employing  no  fewer  than  five  hundred  ships5  car- 
penters, caulkers,  joiners  and  other  workmen.  The 
result  was  that  by  the  year  1615  the  Company  had 


g 

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THE  BUILDING  OF  THE  COMPANY'S  SHIPS    79 

built  more  ships  in  those  short  eight  years  than  any 
other  trade  had  done.  Altogether  they  had  owned 
during  that  period  twenty-one  able  ships,  and  by  the 
year  1621  the  Company  owned  not  less  than  10,000 
tons  of  shipping,  employing  as  many  as  2500  sea- 
men/ When  we  consider  that  even  as  late  as  the 
year  1690  the  whole  population  of  England  was  less 
than  5,500,000,  and  that  of  this  number  the  seafaring 
people  were  a  very  small  figure,  it  is  obvious 
what  this  great  East  India  Company  meant  to  the 
country,  with  its  wealth,  enabling  large  sums  of 
money  to  be  spent  in  wages  to  seamen,  workmen  and 
factors.  After  the  Company  had  been  trading  only 
twenty  years  there  were  about  120  of  these  factors 
alone.  But,  in  addition,  the  Company  was  paying 
out  large  sums  of  money  for  the  relief  of  seamen's 
widows  and  their  children.  I  will  not  burden  the 
reader  with  statistics,  but  I  may  be  allowed  to  state 
that  up  to  November  1621  the  Company  had  ex- 
ported woollen  goods,  lead,  iron,  tin  and  other  com- 
modities from  England  to  the  value  of  ,£319,211. 
From  the  East  these  ships  had  brought  back  cargoes 
which  had  been  purchased  in  the  East  for  the  sum 
of  ,£375,288.  But  you  will  appreciate  the  profit 
when  it  is  stated  further  that  these  cargoes  were  sold 
in  England  for  ,£2,044,600.  As  against  this  there 
was  always  the  possibility  of  losing  the  ships  and  the 
cargoes  in  their  holds  either  outward  or  homeward 
bound.  There  was  the  cost  of  building  and  upkeep 
of  ships  and  dockyard.  There  was  the  heavy  ex- 
pense, too,  of  victualling  the  ships  for  many  months, 
the  purchasing  of  English  merchandise,  the  various 
stores,  the  wages  of  captains,  officers  and  crews,  and 
factors,  as  well  as  the  payment  of  customs.  And 


80  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

though  it  is  perfectly  true  that  the  average  profit 
made  by  the  first  twelve  voyages  was  not  less  than 
138  per  cent.,  yet  we  must  remember  that  the  voyages 
were  never  made  in  less  than  twenty  months  and 
often  extended  to  three  and  four  years. 

So  also  we  must  remember  that  after  the  arrival 
in  this  country  of  the  goods  from  India  they  were 
sold  at  long  credits — even  as  much  as  eighteen 
months  and  two  years.  Owing  to  the  irregularity  of 
the  factors  in  keeping  and  transmitting  their 
accounts,  the  concerns  of  the  voyage  could  not  be 
finally  adjusted  under  six  or  eight  years.  '  Taking 
the  duration  of  the  concern  at  a  medium  of  seven 
years,"  says  Macpherson  in  his  "  History  of  Euro- 
pean Commerce  with  India,"  "  the  profit  appears  to 
be  somewhat  under  twenty  per  cent,  per  annum." 
The  current  rate  of  interest  in  those  days  was  about 
8  per  cent.,  so  that  20  per  cent,  could  not  be 
deemed  for  that  time  a  very  abnormal  rate  of  re- 
muneration when  we  consider  the  amount  of  enter- 
prise required  at  the  outset,  and  the  vast  risks  which 
necessarily  had  to  be  run.  Included  in  these  profits 
were  also  the  results  of  privateering  and  bartering. 
Between  the  years  1601  and  1612  the  profits  ranged 
from  95  to  234  per  cent.,  with  the  exception  of  the 
year  1608,  when  both  ships  were  wrecked. 

Nowhere  was  the  Company's  system  of  thorough- 
ness better  shown  than  in  the  completeness  and 
organisation  of  her  shipyard.  The  East  India  Com- 
pany took  itself  very  seriously  and  arrogated  to 
itself  all  the  dignity  and  self-importance  which  its 
unique  prerogatives  permitted.  The  Court  was  pre- 
sided over  by  the  Governor  and  it  had  its  own  rules 
of  procedure.  "  Every  man,"  for  instance,  "  speak- 


THE  BUILDING  OF  THE  COMPANY'S  SHIPS    81 

ing  in  the  Court  shall  stand  up  and  be  bareheaded, 
and  shall  addresse  his  speach  to  the  Gouernour  or 
Deputy  in  his  absence."  So  runs  one  of  the  Com- 
pany's rules.  Now  the  connecting  link,  so  to  speak, 
between  the  Company  and  its  ships  was  the  man  who 
was  known  as  the  ship's  husband,  one  of  its  salaried 
servants.  When  the  Court  were  met  to  discuss  the 
plans  for  the  yearly  voyages  to  India,  the  husband 
had  to  attend  in  order  to  learn  what  shipping  would 
be  required.  He  then  had  to  draw  out  a  table  of  the 
proportion  of  victuals  and  other  necessaries  for  each 
ship  and  to  see  that  such  were  provided.  After  being 
got  together  these  stores  were  then  placed  in  the 
Company's  warehouses.  In  addition  to  being  the 
victualler  of  the  ships  he  was  responsible  also  for 
providing  the  amount  of  iron  likely  to  be  required — 
:<  yron  both  English  and  Spanish  " — and  had  to 
deliver  it  to  the  smiths  at  Deptford  yard  for  the 
rudder  irons  and  other  purposes,  and  also  to  the 
coopers  for  making  the  hoops  of  the  casks.  The 
husband  was  also  responsible  for  the  supervision  of 
the  clerks  and  for  keeping  the  account-books,  the 
stores  in  the  London  warehouses  being  under  the 
care  of  a  "  Clerke  of  the  Stores." 

In  the  Deptford  yard  large  stocks  of  "  timber, 
planckes,  sheathing-boards,  and  treenayles  "  had  to 
be  maintained  by  officials  called  "  purveyers,"  or,  as 
we  should  name  them  nowadays,  "  buyers."  These 
men  had  to  see  to  the  purchasing  of  all  kinds  of  wood 
used.  It  was  kept  in  the  Company's  private  timber- 
yards  at  Reading,  whence  it  was  put  into  barges  and 
so  brought  down  the  Thames  to  Deptford.  The 
trenails  were  the  old-fashioned  means  of  fastening  a 
ship's  timbers  and  planking  and  had  existed  from  the 


82  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

times  even  of  the  Romans  and  tKe  Vikings.  They 
were  small  wooden  pegs — "  tree-nails  " — driven  in 
something  after  the  appearance  of  the  modern  rivet, 
but  minus  the  head.  The  sheathing-boards  were  a 
very  necessary  protection  for  the  ship's  hull  in  hot 
climates  against  the  insidious  attacks  of  the  worm. 
(In  another  chapter  will  be  found  an  instance  of 
this.)  There  was  also  employed  a  "  measurer  of 
timber  and  plancke,"  whose  job  was  to  go  down  to 
the  waterside  and  mark  the  timber  . 

But  it  was  the  "  Clarke  of  the  Yard  "  who  had  the 
supervision  of  the  shipwrights,  the  "  cawlkers,"  car- 
penters and  labourers,  and  one  portion  of  his  duties 
was  to  see  that  the  men  "  doe  not  loyter  in  the 
Taphouse/'  For  the  Company  certainly  allowed 
such  a  tap-house  in  their  yard,  which  was  "  lycensed 
by  the  Companie  from  yeare  to  yeare  "  to  certain 
persons  on  condition  that  they  retailed  the  beer  at 
not  more  than  six  shillings  the  barrel  and  not  less 
than  "  three  full  pynts  of  Ale  measure  for  a  penny." 
The  tap-house  also  sold  to  the  workmen  of  the  yard 
such  victuals  as  bread,  <:c  pease,"  milk,  porridge, 
eggs,  butter,  cheese,  but  they  were  not  allowed  to 
sell  anything  else,  nor  were  they  allowed  to  sell  to 
any  person  other  than  one  of  the  Company's  work- 
men in  the  yard. 

The  whole  of  the  work  at  the  yard  was  subdivided 
under  so  many  responsible  heads  of  departments, 
just  as  it  is  to-day  in  any  shipyard.  The  Master 
Shipwright's  duties  were  to  build  and  repair  the 
Company's  ships  and  to  design  the  "  plots  and 
models  compleat,  of  all  the  new  ships."  And  he 
was  forbidden  to  build  ships  for  anyone  else  except 
this  Company.  It  is  significant  of  our  modern  system 


THE  BUILDING  OF  THE  COMPANY'S  SHIPS   83 

of  extreme  division  of  labour  that  the  duties  of  ship- 
designer  and  ship-builder  have  become  quite 
separate  and  distinct. 

Then  there  was  another  important  official  attached 
to  the  Company,  known  as  the  "  Master-pilot.55  "  The 
Mr  Pylot  his  office  is  to  commaund  and  order  the 
workes  which  concerne  the  setting  up  and  taking 
downe  of  Masts,  Yards,  Rigging,  unrigging  and  pro- 
portioning the  quantities,  sorts  and  sizes  of  Cordage 
to  the  Companies  ships  .  .  .  and  to  use  care  and 
diligence  .  .  .  that  the  Company  may  not  be 
ouercharged  with  idle,  unskilfull,  or  a  needlesse 
number  of  workmen,  or  in  the  rate  of  their 
wages."  This  same  master-pilot  had  to  survey 
the  Company's  ships  at  Deptford  and  Blackwall 
and  to  see  that,  after  being  launched,  they  were 
safely  moored.  He  had  also  to  see  that  the  canvas 
given  out  was  duly  made  into  sails,  and  was  further 
responsible  that  the  Company's  ships  set  forth  up  to 
time  from  Deptford,  Blackwall  and  Erith.  In  addi- 
tion he  took  charge  of  them  whilst  in  the  Thames 
to  "  pylot  downe  the  Companies  ships  to  Eirth  and 
Grauesend,  attending  them  there  untill  they  shall  be 
dispatched  into  the  Downes."  So  also  when  they 
came  back  from  India  he  would  pilot  them  up  from 
Gravesend  "  untill  they  be  safely  moored  at  an 
Anchor,  or  indocked  at  Blackwall."  This  official 
was  assisted  in  the  supervision  of  cordage  by  a  man 
called  the  "  Boatswaine  Generall." 

The  treasurers  looked  after  the  Company's 
accounts,  arid  once  a  week  they  handed  to  the 
"  Purcer-Generall  "  the  sums  of  money  for  paying 
the  wages  of  the  sailors  and  labourers :  also  the 
"  harbour  wages  "  to  "  officers  and  Maryners,  who 


84  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

goe  the  Voyage."  Every  ship  of  course  also  carried 
its  own  "  purcer,"  who  with  their  mates  had  to  look 
after  the  lading,  the  ship's  accounts  and  the  condi- 
_  tions  of  the  victuals  on  board,  etc. 

After  the  end  of  the  day's  work  the  Clerk  of  the 
Works  would  go  round  the  yard  to  see  that  there 
was  no  risk  of  fire  breaking  out  owing  to  negligence 
in  respect  of  the  pitch  cauldrons  or  other  instances. 
The  yard  boasted  of  a  "  porter  of  the  lodge,"  and  as 
soon  as  the  workmen  had  done  for  the  day  watch- 
men came  on  duty  in  the  yard,  where  they  remained 
until  the  bell  rang  next  morning  summoning  the 
labourers  back  to  their  work.  The  Company  in- 
sisted on  these  watchmen  doing  their  supervision 
thoroughly,  "  often  calling  one  to  another  to  prevent 
sleepe,  and  euery  houre  when  the  clocke  strikes  " 
they  were  bidden  to  "  walke  round  "  and  ring  a  bell 
in  the  yard. 

The  "  Clarke  of  the  Cordage  "  looked  after  the 
ropes,  marlin,  "  twyne,"  ordnance,  "  great  shot," 
pulleys,  blocks  and  the  like.  The  "  Clarke  of  the 
Iron  Works  "  was  similarly  responsible  for  all  the 
anchors,  nails,  bolts,  chain-plates,  and  so  on,  and  had 
to  look  to  these  when  the  ships  came  home  from  the 
East.  He  was  further  responsible  for  the  lead  and 
copper.  If  an  anchor  or  anything  had  to  be  made 
or  repaired  in  this  metal  it  was  done  by  the  Com- 
pany's smith  on  the  yard. 

The  "  Chirurgion  Generall  "  and  his  deputy  had 
their  lodgings  in  the  yard,  and  one  or  the  other  was 
bound  to  be  in  attendance  daily  from  morning  till  night 
"  to  cure  any  person  or  persons  who  may  be  hurt  in 
the  Service  of  this  Company,  and  the  like  in  all  their 
ships  riding  at  an  anchor  at  Deptf  ord  and  Blackwall, 


THE  BUILDING  OF  THE  COMPANY'S  SHIPS   85 

and  at  Erith,  where  hee  shall  also  keepe  a  Deputy 
with  his  Chest  furnished,  to  remaine  there  contin- 
ually, until  all  the  said  ships  be  sayled  downe  from 
thence  to  Grauesend."  And  it  is  amusing  to  read 
that  the  duties  of  the  "  chirurgion  "  included  that 
of  cutting  the  "  hayre  of  the  carpenters,  saylors, 
caulkers,  labourers  "  and  other  workmen  once  every 
forty  days  "  in  a  seemely  manner,  performing  their 
works  at  Breakfast  and  Dinner  times,  or  in  raynie 
weather,  and  in  an  open  place  where  no  man  may 
loyter  or  lye  hidden,  under  pretence  to  attend  his 
turne  of  trimming."  In  addition  this  same  surgeon 
had  to  report  all  persons  who  seemed  to  be  decrepit 
or  unfit :  and  every  carpenter,  sailor,  labourer  or 
workman  in  the  yards  or  ships  had  to  pay  twopence 
every  month  out  of  his  wages  to  the  said  "  Chirurgion 
Generall  " ;  so  you  may  take  it  as  certain  that  he  was 
not  the  most  popular  of  beings.  He  was  also  com- 
pelled to  find  "  skilfull  and  honest  chirurgions  and 
their  Mates  "  for  the  ships.  The  Company  took 
special  precautions  to  see  that  these  vessels  set  out 
with  all  the  medical  comforts  and  supplies  of  those 
days,  having  regard  to  the  changing  climates  and  the 
heavy  losses  of  life  through  scurvy  and  dysentery  (or 
flux).  Thus  these  medicine-chests  had  to  be  brought 
into  the  Company's  house  fourteen  days  before  the 
ships  sailed,  so  that  the  'doctors  and  apothecaries  and 
other  people  appointed  by  the  Committee  dealing 
with  this  subject  might  make  a  full  inspection. 

In  addition  to  the  officials  on  the  Thames  there 
was  also  a  "  Keeper  of  Anchors  and  Stores  in  the 
Downes,"  at  Deal,  who  looked  after  the  cables, 
hawsers,  anchors  and  ships'  boats  sent  to  the  Downs, 
so  that  whenever  any  of  the  Company's  ships  arrived 


86  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

there  lacking  any  of  these  articles  they  could  always 
be  supplied.  At  Deptford  yard  there  was  every 
single  trade  represented  that  was  employed  in  the 
construction  and  fitting  out  of  a  seventeenth-century 
ship.  There  were  coopers  and  boatmakers  and  the 
carvers  who  (deftly  gave  those  fantastic  decorations 
to  the  ships'  hulls.  There  were  smiths  and  painters 
and  riggers,  but  in  addition  to  the  large  staff  which 
were  concerned  with  the  ships  themselves,  there  was 
another  staff  who  had  to  look  after  the  providing  of 
the  salt  meat  for  the  voyages.  For  the  Company 
was  determined  to  keep  the  profit  of  victuals  to  itself. 
This  department  was  under  the  management  of  the 
:<  Clerk  of  the  Slaughter-house/5  his  duties  being  to 
look  after  the  killing,  salting,  pickling  and  packing 
of  the  "  beefes  and  hogges."  This  salt  beef  and 
pork  comprised  the  main  food  of  these  sailormen  to 
the  Far  East  and  back.  They  had  no  vegetables 
except  [dried  peas  and  beans,  no  bread  other  than 
mouldy  ship's  biscuit,  and  no  fruit. 

The  Company  included  a  "  Committee  for  Enter- 
taining of  Marriners,"  and  they  were  on  the  look-out 
for  "  able  men,  unmarryed  and  approved  saylors." 
Many  of  these  fellows  were  of  the  reckless,  dare- 
devil type,  coarse  of  morals  and  frequently  drunk 
when  ashore  :  yet  heroic  in  a  crisis,  imprudent,  con- 
temptuous of  danger,  brutal  and  unruly.  Many  a 
young  man — sailor  and  factor  alike — was  sent  in 
these  ships  in  order  that  he  might  be  got  out  of 
the  way  after  disgracing  his  family  :  and  numbers  of 
them  never  again  set  foot  in  England.  If  the  sea- 
men who  were  shipped  happened  to  be  married,  the 
"  Clarke  of  the  Imprest  "  paid  the  wages  allowed  to 
their  wives  whilst  the  men  were  at  sea.  This  official 


THE  BUILDING  OF  THE  COMPANY'S  SHIPS    87 

was  also  bound  to  pay  the  wages  to  the  "  marriners 
which  shall  returne  home  in  the  Companies  ships,  or 
to  their  Assignes." 

After  the  masters  and  their  mates  of  the  respective 
ships  had  been  hired  for  a  voyage,  their  names  were 
entered  under  the  list  of  harbour-wages,  and  they 
took  their  oaths  openly  in  the  Court  of  the  Com- 
mittees of  the  Company.  After  this  they  sought  able 
and  good  mariners  "  whom  they  shall  preferre  for 
entertainment  unto  the  Committees  appointed  to 
that  businesse."  These  masters  were  bound  to  sleep 
on  board  the  ships  to  which  they  had  just  been 
appointed,  every  night,  and  there  keep  good  order. 
They  were  also  to  appoint  quartermasters  and  boat- 
swains, who  were  to  see  that  the  victuals,  provisions, 
stores  and  merchandise  were  properly  stowed.  The 
boatswain,  gunner,  cook,  steward,  carpenter  and 
other  officers  were  each  responsible  for  their  own 
special  stores. 

Within  ten  days  after  the  arrival  of  their  ship  in 
the  Thames  from  India  the  master  was  bound  to 
deliver  to  the  Governor  of  the  Company  four  copies 
of  his  journal  and  other  "  worthy  observations  "  of 
his  voyage.  When  the  ship  was  bound  out  the 
master  was  always  to  be  on  board  and  to  assist  the 
master-pilot.  When  the  ship  returned  home,  a 
Committee  of  the  Company  for  the  Discharge  of  the 
Ships  was  always  present  on  J)oard  in  order  to  see 
the  hold  opened.  This  was  to  prevent  theft.  The 
goods  were  then  placed  in  lighters  and  one  of  the 
Company's  "  trusty  servants  "  then  went  in  the  latter 
to  watch  that  no  embezzlement  occurred.  The  goods 
were  then  taken  to  Leadenhall,  where  they  were  sold. 
"  The  custome  hath  been  used  heretofore  [i.e.  prior 


88  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

to  1621]  in  selling  the  wares  of  this  Company  at 
a  Generall  Court,  and  the  Remnants  of  small  value 
in  the  Warehouses  by  the  light  of  a  candle/5  and 
this  custom  was  continued.  Selling  by  the  "  light  of 
a  candle  "  was  as  follows  : — The  article  was  put  up 
for  auction,  a  small  piece  of  candle  burning  the 
while.  So  long  as  that  piece  of  candle  was  there 
the  bids  could  go  on,  but  as  soon  as  it  burned  out  the 
last  bid  was  completed  and  no  more  could  be  made 
for  that  commodity. 

Before  the  crew  put  to  sea,  two  months'  wages 
were  allowed  ahead,  and  "  gratifications  "  were  also 
paid  "  unto  worthy  and  well  deserving  persons."  In 
these  ships  there  went  out  also  the  merchants,  factors 
and  supercargoes.  Some,  as  we  have  already  seen, 
founded  factories  where  they  landed  and  circum- 
stances permitted  :  but  later  on  there  were  factors 
resident  in  every  port,  just  as  each  steamship  com- 
pany to-day  has  its  own  agents  wherever  the  ships 
touch. 

The  Deptford  yard,  which  the  Company  leased 
from  the  year  1607  and  used  for  the  next  twenty 
years,  was  of  the  greatest  assistance  to  the  Company. 
The  best  merchant  ships  in  the  country  there  came 
into  being,  were  fitted  out,  repaired  on  their  return, 
resheathed  and  then  sent  to  sea  in  excellent  condi- 
tion. It  was  true  that  the  saving  in  building  for 
themselves  was  to  the  Company's  great  benefit ;  but, 
on  the  other  hand,  the  yard  with  all  this  staff  and 
detail  was  found  in  the  long  run  to  be  so  costly  that 
it  swallowed  up  too  much  of  the  capital,  which  could 
more  profitably  have  been  employed  in  hiring  ships. 
It  was  seen  also  that  even  with  the  carefulness  ex- 
pended in  the  construction  of  the  Company's  ships, 


THE  BUILDING  OF  THE  COMPANY'S  SHIPS    89 

the  latter  became  worn  out  after  four  voyages :  so 
at  the  end  of  twenty  years  it  was  decided  to  give  up 
this  expensive  yard  and  to  revert  to  the  original 
custom  of  hiring  vessels  as  required.  Later  on  we 
shall  see  that  this  system  developed  in  a  curious 
manner,  but  for  the  present  we  must  go  back  to  see 
the  progress  which  the  voyages  of  these  early  East 
Indiamen  brought  about  in  the  Eastern  trade.  It 
took  four  months  to  fit  out  these  ships  for  sailing 
again  to  the  East,  and  the  refit  was  very  thorough. 
A  large  magazine  of  warlike  stores  to  the  value  of 
,£30,000  was  kept  always  ready,  and  this  was  really 
a  very  useful  asset  in  the  country,  since  in  the  time 
of  necessity  the  material  could  be  used  by  the 
English  navy.  Even  in  the  year  1626,  within  a 
few  months  of  the  closing  down  of  the  shipyard,  the 
Company  were  so  enterprising  as  to  erect  mills  and 
houses  for  the  manufacture  of  their  own  gunpowder, 
obtaining  the  saltpetre  from  the  East,  which  of 
course  came  home  in  their  own  ships.  If  ever  mono- 
poly was  allowed  to  have  its  own  way,  surely  it  never 
had  such  good  opportunity  as  was  vouchsafed  to  the 
East  India  Company,  with  its  own  shipyards, 
victualling,  and  its  own  particular  trade  with  full 
cargoes  each  way  and  a  high  percentage  almost 
assured.  We  are  accustomed  in  this  twentieth  cen- 
tury to  bewail  the  existence  of  "  corners  "  and 
trusts  :  yet  these  are  as  nothing  compared  with  the 
privileges  which  the  East  India  Company  enjoyed 
and  so  jealously  guarded  through  generation  after 
generation,  through  two  centuries  and  well  into  a 
third.  And  that  meant  more  than  was  really 
apparent.  The  whole  world  had  not  been  developed 
and  opened  out  as  it  is  to-day.  Rather  this  exclusive 


90  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

privilege  meant  the  granting  of  about  half  the  world 
to  a  select  few,  and  the  democratic  spirit  of  the 
twentieth  century  would  instantly  revolt  against  any 
such  condition  of  affairs.  It  must  not  be  thought 
that  there  were  not  those  who  protested  even  in  the 
seventeenth  century.  Some  did  certainly  protest- 
in  a  very  forcible  manner — by  cutting  in  as  inter- 
lopers. But  it  was  a  short-lived  victory  and  had  no 
lasting  effect. 


CHAPTER   VIII 

PERILS    AND    ADVENTURES 

IT  is  only  by  examining  the  official  correspondence 
which  passed  between  the  Company's  servants  and 
themselves  that  we  are  able  to  get  a  correct  insight 
into  the  lesser,  though  usually  more  human,  details 
connected  with  these  ships.  In  the  last  chapter  but 
one  we  saw  that  the  third  voyage  had  been  financially 
satisfactory.  But  there  are  a  few  sidelights  which 
show  that  these  voyages  were  not  mere  pleasure 
cruises.  If  this  particular  one  earned  234  per  cent, 
it  was  by  sheer  hard  work  on  the  part  of  the  men 
and  of  the  ships.  Captain  Keeling  writes  that  he 
had,  whilst  in  the  East,  to  buy  "  of  the  Dutch  a 
maine  top-sayle  (whereof  we  had  extreame  want)  and 
delivered  them  a  note  to  the  Company,  to  receive 
twelve  pounds  twelve  shillings  for  the  same."  So 
also  it  was  with  men  as  with  sails.  Anthony  Marlowe 
writes  home  to  the  Governor  of  the  Company,  under 
date  of  22nd  June  1608,  from  on  board  the  Hector, 
that  during  the  voyage  "  there  hath  died  in  our  ship 
two  foremast  men — Wallis  and  Palline  :  and  two  lost 
overboard,  Goodman  and  Jones :  also  there  hath 
died  Dryhurst,  steward's  mate,  John  Newcome,  John 
Asshenhurst,  purser's  mate,  Mr  Quaytmore,  purser, 
and  Mr  Clarke,  merchant." 


92  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

If  there  was  ill-feeling  ashore  between  the  Eng- 
lish and  the  Portuguese,  and  the  English  and  Dutch, 
so  all  was  not  ever  as  happy  as  wedding  bells  in  the 
English  ships.  One  June  day  in  1608,  during  this 
third  voyage,  a  violent  enmity  had  broken  out  be- 
tween Anthony  Hippon,  master  of  the  Dragon,  and 
his  mate,  William  Tavernour.  Someone  endeav- 
oured to  get  them  to  make  up  their  quarrel,  but 
Hippon  was  obdurate,  and  "  was  heartened  forward 
in  his  malice  against  the  said  Tavernour  by  Matthew 
Mullynex  the  master  of  the  Hector'' 

And  there  is  a  further  letter,  dated  4th  December 
1608,  which  was  sent  by  another  of  the  Company's 
servants  named  James  Hearne,  which  again  calls 
attention  to  the  Dragon's  want  of  sails,  the  ship  then 
being  at  Bantam.  There  was  no  canvas  procurable 
out  there,  "  therefore/'  he  suggests,  "  one  hundred 
pound  more  or  less,  would  not  be  lost  in  laying  it  out 
in  spare  canvas  in  such  a  voyage  as  this."  And  then 
he  concludes  his  letter  with  a  postscript,  which  shows 
that  the  life  of  a  factor  in  the  Company's  service 
ashore  out  in  the  East  was  not  a  lucrative  occupa- 
tion. "  That  it  may  please  your  worships,"  he 
petitions,  "  to  consider  me  somewhat  in  my  wages, 
for  I  have  served  2  years  already  at  ^4  a  month, 
and  in  this  place  I  am  in,  my  charge  will  be  greater 
than  otherwise." 

We  have  already  alluded  to  the  setting  forth  of 
the  sixth  expedition  under  Sir  Henry  Middleton  in 
1607.  Middleton  was  instructed  to  proceed  to  the 
west  coast  of  India  with  the  intention  of  obtaining 
from  Surat  Indian  calicoes  which  would  find  a  ready 
sale  at  Bantam  and  the  Moluccas.  Having  set  forth 
from  England  in  the  year  1610,  he  arrived  at  Aden, 


PERILS  AND  ADVENTURES  93 

where  he  left  the  Peppercorn,  and  then  with  his  flag 
in  the  Trade's  Increase  sailed  for  Mocha,  which  is 
at  the  southern  end  of  the  Red  Sea.  No  English 
vessel  had  yet  thrust  her  bows  into  this  sea,  though 
the  Portuguese  had  been  there  even  during  the  pre- 
vious century.  And  here  the  Trade's  Increase,  which 
had  received  such  an  ovation  when  she  was  first 
launched  at  the  Deptford  yard,  was  to  begin  the 
first  of  her  serious  mishaps.  Like  many  another  ship 
that  came  after  her,  famous  for  unprecedented  size, 
she  was  destined  to  be  unlucky. 

She  was  making  for  Mocha  with  the  assistance  of 
native  pilots  when  she  had  the  misfortune  to  get 
badly  aground.  She  was  a  clumsy,  unhandy  ship, 
and  it  was  natural  enough  that  the  natives  who  had 
been  accustomed  only  to  their  smaller  craft  might  get 
her  into  trouble.  The  incident  occurred  in  Novem- 
ber 1 6 10,  and  the  following  account  sent  home  by 
one  who  was  on  board  her  at  the  time  may  be  taken 
as  representative  of  the  facts.  "  About  five  a 
clocke,"  runs  the  account,  "  in  luffing  in  beeing  much 
wind,  we  split  our  maine  toppe  sayle,  and  putting 
abroad  our  mizen,  it  split  likewise :  our  Pilots 
brought  our  shippe  a  ground  upon  a  banke  of  sand, 
the  wind  blowing  hard,  and  the  Sea  somewhat  high, 
which  made  us  all  doubt  her  coming  off  ...  we  did 
what  we  could  to  lighten  our  ship,  sending  some 
goods  a-land  and  some  aboard  the  Darling  ...  we 
land  as  well  our  Wheat-meale,  Vinegar,  Sea-coles, 
Pitch  and  Tarre,  with  our  unbuilt  Pinnasse,  and 
other  provisions  which  came  next  hand,  or  in  the 
way,  as  well  as  Tinne,  Lead,  Iron,  and  other  mer- 
chandise to  be  sould,  and  staved  neare  all  our  water." 
The  reference  to  the  "  unbuilt  pinnasse  "  is  ex- 


94  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

plained  by  the  fact  that  it  was  the  custom  of  the 
Elizabethan  and  later  voyagers  to  take  out  from 
home  the  necessary  timber  and  planks  and  to  build 
the  little  craft  on  board  as  they  proceeded.  This 
kept  the  men  occupied  and  was  a  saving  in  wages, 
besides  not  involving  the  risk  of  losing  such  a  craft 
before  the  end  of  the  voyage  was  being  approached. 
Such  a  top-heavy,  cumbrous  vessel  as  the  Trade's 
Increase  would  need  very  careful  "  nursing  "  in  a 
squall  to  prevent  her  from  capsizing,  and  it  is  per- 
fectly clear  that  the  sudden  luffing  up  into  the  wind 
to  ease  her  was  too  much  for  the  canvas  that  had 
already  been  considerably  worn  and  chafed  during 
the  voyage  across  the  Equator  and  round  the  Cape 
of  Good  Hope  up  to  the  Gulf  of  Aden. 

After  some  anxious  hours  the  ship  was  eventually 
got  afloat  again,  but  Middleton  was  taken  prisoner 
by  the  Arabs.  For  a  long  while  he  was  compelled 
to  endure  his  captivity,  but  was  eventually  released 
and  sailed  for  Surat,  where  he  arrived  with  his  ships 
on  26th  September  1611,  a  great  deal  of  valuable 
time  having  been  lost.  Here  again  he  was  unlucky, 
for  a  Portuguese  squadron  of  seven  ships  was  wait- 
ing outside.  The  Portuguese  were  now  so  indignant 
and  jealous  of  the  English  interlopers  that  they  were 
resolved  to  resist  them  to  the  utmost :  otherwise  it 
was  obvious  that  the  hard-won  wealth  of  the  East 
would  before  long  slip  right  away.  All  the  inspira- 
tion and  enthusiasm  of  Prince  Henry  the  Navigator, 
all  the  heroic  voyages  of  the  first  Portuguese  navi- 
gators to  the  East,  all  the  capital  which  had  been 
expended  in  building  and  fitting  out  their  expensive 
caracks  would  assuredly  be  thrown  into  the  sea  un- 
less the  aggressive  Englishmen,  who  had  penetrated 


PERILS  AND  ADVENTURES  95 

their  secrets,  were  to  be  thwarted  now  with  deter- 
mination. The  Portuguese  were  expecting  Middle- 
ton's  arrival,  for  they  had  already  heard  of  his  being 
in  the  Red  Sea,  and  now  they  were  in  sufficient  and 
overwhelming  strength  to  oppose  him :  for  besides 
the  big  ships  outside,  there  were  nearly  twice  as 
many  smaller  craft  waiting  inside  the  bar.  The 
Portuguese  contention  was  that  they  alone  had  the 
right  to  trade  with  Surat :  the  English  were  not 
wanted  and  had  no  justification  to  be  there  at  all. 

Middleton's  position  was  that  he  had  come  out 
from  the  King  of  England  bearing  a  letter  and 
presents  to  the  Great  Mogul  to  put  on  a  firm  footing 
that  trade  which  Englishmen  had  already  inaugu- 
rated, and  that  India  was  open  to  all  nations  who 
wished  to  trade  with  her.  But,  of  course,  Middleton 
did  not  know  at  the  time  the  incident  which  has 
already  been  mentioned  in  connection  with  Hawkins 
and  the  Great  Mogul.  When,  however,  the  news 
presently  reached  him,  it  was  to  modify  his  plans 
entirely :  there  could  be  no  good  object  attained  in 
endeavouring  to  establish  trade  against  the  opposi- 
tion of  the  Mogul  and  the  Portuguese.  The  natives 
were  clearly  under  the  thumb  of  the  Portuguese,  and, 
however  willing  they  might  have  been,  no  trade  with 
them  was  possible. 

So,  after  taking  Hawkins  on  board,  together  with 
the  Englishmen  who  had  been  left  at  Surat,  a  council 
was  held  and  ultimately  it  was  decided  to  return  to 
the  Red  Sea  so  that  he  could  there  trade  with  the 
ships  from  India,  since  to  deal  with  them  in  their 
own  country  was  not  practicable.  This  decision  was 
carried  out,  and  whether  the  traders  liked  it  or  not 
they  were  compelled  to  barter  the  goods  which 


96  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

Middleton  required  to  take  farther  eastwards  to  the 
Indian  Archipelago  as  previously  indicated.  But 
meanwhile  there  had  set  out  from  England  another 
expedition,  consisting  of  the  three  ships  Clove, 
Thomas  and  Hector,  under  the  command  of  Captain 
Saris,  bound  for  the  Red  Sea,  having  previously 
obtained  a  firman,  or  decree,  from  Constantinople 
which  would  grant  him  and  his  merchants  kindly 
treatment  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Mocha  and  Aden. 
But  on  arriving  at  Socotra,  Saris  found  a  letter  from 
Middleton  giving  warning  of  the  treacherous  treat- 
ment to  expect.  In  spite  of  this,  however,  Saris 
found  that  the  firman  was  respected,  but  eventually 
deemed  it  prudent  to  make  for  the  Straits  of  Bab-el- 
Mandeb,  where  he  met  Middleton  and  agreed  with 
him  to  engage  in  privateering  the  ships  of  India. 
If  you  had  questioned  these  English  seamen  they 
would  have  replied  unhesitatingly  that  they  were 
merely  engaged  in  trade  by  barter,  and  that  as  they 
had  been  prevented  by  circumstances  from  carrying- 
on  this  direct  with  the  Indian  continent  they  had  no 
other  opportunity  than  to  do  it  at  sea.  They  had 
been  sent  out  by  the  English  Company  to  get  the 
cloths  and  calicoes  to  exchange  farther  east  and  they 
were  merely  fulfilling  their  instructions.  But  in 
plain  language  there  was  little  difference  between 
this  and  robbery,  or,  at  the  best,  compulsory  sale  at 
the  buyer's  own  price. 

But  when  all  this  "  trading  "  was  finished  and  the 
Trade's  Increase  went  to  Malay  Archipelago,  she 
was  to  bring  to  a  tragic  end  her  short  and  adven- 
turous career.  Middleton  had  gone  ahead  in  the 
Peppercorn,  and  the  Trade's  Increase  had  been 
ordered  to  follow  after.  Unfortunately  she  needed 


f  § 


1^  i 


PERILS  AND  ADVENTURES  97 

some  repairs  to  her  hull.  It  was  customary  before 
an  East  Indiaman  left  the  East  on  her  homeward 
voyage  for  the  sheathing  outside  to  be  attended  to,  in 
order  that  she  might  make  as  fast  a  passage  home  as 
possible.  But  there  were  no  dry  docks  out  there,  and 
very  few  anywhere,  even  in  England  or  Holland.  The 
practice,  which  lasted  well  into  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury, was  to  careen  a  ship  if  she  required  any  atten- 
tion below  the  water-line — her  seams  caulked,  or  her 
bottom  tarred.  This  was  done  in  the  case  of  the 
Trade's  Increase  whilst  she  was  at  Bantam,  where 
her  sheathing  was  being  seen  to.  But  she  fell  over 
on  to  her  side  and  became  a  total  loss.  One  con- 
temporary account  states  that  whilst  the  repairs  were 
being  done  "  all  her  men  died  in  the  careening  of 
her,"  and  that  then  some  Javanese  were  hired  to  do 
the  job,  but  five  hundred  of  these  "  died  in  the  worke 
before  they  could  sheath  one  side  :  so  that  they 
could  hire  no  more  men,  and  therefore  were  in- 
forced  to  leave  her  imperfect,  where  shee  was  sunke 
in  the  Sea,  and  after  set  on  fire  by  the  Javans."  This 
was  towards  the  end  of  the  year  1613.  Another  con- 
temporary account  states  that  she  was  laid  up  in  the 
ooze,  and  was  set  on  fire  from  stem  to  stern,  having 
been  previously  fired  twice,  at  the  supposed  instiga- 
tion of  a  renegade  Spaniard,  :c  which  is  turned 
Moor."  She  blazed  away  during  the  whole  of  one 
night,  and  her  wreck  was  eventually  sold  for  1050 
reales.  When  Sir  Henry  Middleton  heard  the  news 
of  the  loss  of  his  famous  flagship,  the  pride  of  all 
the  seas,  he  was  so  heart-broken  that  he  died.  Thus 
both  admiral  and  flagship  had  perished  :  it  had  been 
a  calamitous  voyage. 

As  for  Captain  Saris,  he  had  sailed  to  Japan  in 


98  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

order  to  establish  a  factory.  Notwithstanding  the 
opposition  of  the  Dutch,  who  were  as  jealous  of  his 
arrival  in  the  Far  East  as  the  Portuguese  had  been 
in  India,  the  Emperor  received  him  favourably  and 
the  seeds  were  sown  for  future  trade  with  England 
which,  to  change  the  metaphor,  were  to  prepare  the 
way  for  the  adoption  of  Western  ideas  by  the  Japan- 
ese during  the  nineteenth  and  the  twentieth  centuries. 
Strictly  speaking,  Japan  and  China  have  nothing  to 
do  with  India.  But  historically,  so  far  as  our  present 
subject  is  concerned,  they  are  to  an  extent  bound 
together.  Not  merely  did  these  first  captains  of  the 
English  East  India  Company  sail  thither,  but,  as 
the  reader  will  see  further  on  in  this  volume,  a  great 
deal  of  trade  was  done  with  those  parts  by  the 
Company's  servants  :  and  at  least  one  interesting 
engagement  took  place  on  sea  near  by,  in  which  the 
Company's  merchant  ships  distinguished  themselves. 

Notwithstanding  the  sad  loss  of  the  costly  Trades 
Increase,  Middleton's  voyage  had  yielded  to  the 
Company  a  profit  of  121  per  cent.  Captain  Saris's 
voyage  had  done  even  better  still,  earning  218  per 
cent. ;  but,  as  we  have  shown,  this  was  not  all  earned 
by  legitimate  trade. 

The  journal  of  Captain  Nicholas  Downton  of  the 
homeward  voyage  of  the  Peppercorn  (which  you  will 
remember  had  been  built  at  the  Deptford  yard  and 
went  out  in  company  with  the  Trade's  Increase) 
shows  the  kind  of  hardships  which  our  sailors  had 
to  endure  whilst  earning  such  handsome  profits  for 
their  owners.  With  thankful  hearts  this  craft  started 
back  from  Bantam,  though  it  was  to  be  no  pleasant 
Voyage.  On  getting  under  way  Downton  saluted 
the  admiral  by  way  of  farewell.  "  I  gave  him  5 


PERILS  AND  ADVENTURES  99 

shot/'  he  writes,  "  having  no  more  pieces  out  nor 
ports  uncaulked  " — that  is  to  say,  he  had  pre- 
pared his  ship  for  sea,  having  run  inboard  most  of 
his  guns  and  caulked  up  the  ports.  The  ship  had 
previously  had  her  sheathing  attended  to,  and  all  the 
stores  were  aboard.  The  meat  was  kept  in  casks, 
while  the  bread  and  corn  were  kept  in  a  "  tight 
room  "  in  order  to  avoid  the  ravages  of  the  cacara — 
"  a  most  devouring  worm,"  as  Downton  quaintly 
calls  it,  "  with  which  this  ship  doth  abound  to  our 
great  disturbance."  The  drinking-water  to  the  ex- 
tent of  twenty-six  tons  had  also  been  brought  aboard, 
where  it  was  kept  in  casks.  But  as  these  were 
decayed,  weak,  rotten  and  leaky  the  crew  were  bound 
to  suffer  before  they  reached  home.  He  did  his  best 
to  make  her  what  he  calls  "  a  pridie  ship  " — that  is, 
a  trim  ship — but  though  this  was  her  first  homeward 
voyage  she  leaked  like  a  basket  through  the  trenail 
holes  in  the  stern,  owing  to  the  negligence  of  the 
wicked  Deptford  carpenters,  who  had  scamped  their 
work.  The  result  was  that  there  were  soon  twenty 
inches  of  water  "  on  our  lower  orlop."  Certainly  the 
Company's  yard  had  not  earned  much  real  credit  for 
the  way  they  had  designed  and  built  the  Peppercorn 
and  the  Trade's  Increase. 

And  so  this  leaky,  crank,  badly  built  ship  came 
fighting  her  way  along  over  the  trackless  ocean,  a 
continuous  source  of  anxiety  to  her  commander. 
Troubles  often  enough  come  not  singly,  and  the 
Peppercorn  was  another  unlucky  ship.  By  sheer 
carelessness  she  and  all  hands  barely  escaped  ending 
all  things  by  fire  at  sea.  "  At  noon,"  says  Downton, 
"  our  ship  came  afire  by  the  cook  his  negligence, 
o'erguzzled  with  drink,  digged  a  hole  through  the 


100  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

brick  back  of  the  furnace  and  gave  the  fire  passage 
to  the  ship's  side,  which  led  to  much  trouble  besides 
spoil  to  our  ship."  The  punctuation  of  this  sentence 
needs  no  modification  to  show  the  short,  sharp  im- 
pressions jotted  down  by  a  choleric  captain.  The 
name  of  this  "  o'erguzzled  "  cook  was  Richard  Han- 
cock, and  no  doubt  he  had  so  undermined  his  health 
with  drink,  or  had  been  so  severely  punished  by  his 
commander  that  he  could  not  long  survive,  for  he 
died  shortly  after  one  day  at  noon  and  was  buried  at 
sea. 

But  he  was  not  the  only  careless  member  of  the 
ship's  company.  At  least  one  of  the  watch-keeping 
officers  was  just  as  bad  in  his  own  sphere.  "  The 
27th  at  2  after  noon  we  were  suddenly  taken  short 
with  a  gust  from  the  SE,  which  by  neglect  of  the 
principal  of  the  watch  not  setting  in  time,  not  only 
put  us  to  much  present  trouble  but  also  split  us  two 
topsails  at  once,  and  blew  a  third  clean  away."  The 
following  month  on  the  eleventh  the  Peppercorn  was 
at  midnight  overwhelmed  by  heavy  squalls  which 
"  split  our  main  bonnet  and  fore  course,  whereby 
we  were  forced  to  lie  a  try  with  mainsail,  the  sea 
very  violent,  we  mending  our  sail." 

The  meaning  of  this  may  not  be  quite  apparent  to 
those  unfamiliar  with  the  ships  of  those  days.  The 
"  bonnet  "  was  an  additional  piece  of  canvas  laced 
on  to  the  foot  of  these  square-sails.  It  had  been 
long  in  use  by  the  ships  of  the  Vikings  and  the 
English  craft  of  the  Middle  Ages,  and  continued  to 
be  used  during  the  Tudor  period  and  the  seventeenth 
century.  Even  in  the  twentieth  century  it  is  not 
quite  obsolete,  and  is  still  used  on  the  Norfolk 
wherries  and  on  some  of  the  North  Sea  fishing 


PERILS  AND  ADVENTURES 

vessels.  It  was  such  a  canvas  as  certainly  ought  to 
have  been  taken  in  quickly  if  the  Peppercorn  was 
likely  to  be  struck  by  a  heavy  squall,  being  essen- 
tially a  fine-weather  addition.  And  whenever  it  was 
unlaced  the  equivalent  was  obtained  of  putting  a 
reef  in  the  sail.  To  "  lie  a  try  "  was  a  well-known 
expression  used  by  the  Elizabethan  seamen  and  their 
successors  :  it  meant  simply  what  we  mean  to-day 
when  we  speak  of  heaving-to.  The  ship  would  just 
forge  ahead  very  slowly  under  her  mainsail  only, 
being  under  command  but  making  good  weather  of 
the  violent  sea  of  which  Downton  speaks,  and  allow- 
ing most  of  the  hands  to  get  busy  with  the  sails, 
which  had  to  be  sent  down  and  repaired. 

They  had  barely  begun  to  resume  their  voyage 
when,  on  the  thirteenth  of  the  month,  the  Pepper- 
corn broke  her  main  truss — that  is  to  say,  the  rope 
which  kept  the  yard  of  the  mainsail  at  its  centre  to 
the  mast.  The  main  halyards  also  carried  away  and 
again  the  main  bonnet  was  split,  but  this  time  the 
mainsail  as  well.  The  "  main  course,"  says  Down- 
ton,  "  rent  out  of  the  bolt  rope  " — that  is  to  say, 
blew  right  away  from  the  rope  to  which  it  is  sewn — 
and  so  they  were,  owing  to  "  want  of  fit  sail  to  carry, 
forced  to  lie  a  hull,"  which  means  that  they  had  to 
heave-to  again.  Meanwhile  the  Peppercorn  was  still 
leaking  away  merrily.  "  This  day  again,"  reads  an 
entry  in  the  journal  a  little  later  on,  "  by  the  labour- 
ing of  the  ship  and  beating  of  her  bows  in  a  head 
sea,  whereby  we  found  in  the  powder  room  in  the  fore 
part  on  the  lower  orlop,  20  or  24  inches  water,  which 
have  so  spoiled,  wet  and  stained  divers  barrels,  so 
that  of  20  barrels  of  powder  I  do  not  now  expect  to 
find  serviceable  2  barrels,  besides  all  our  match  and 


102  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

divers  other  things/'  It  would  therefore  have  gone 
ill  with  the  Peppercorn  if  she  had  fallen  in  with  a 
big,  powerful  Spanish  ship  on  the  high  seas  ready  to 
blaze  away  at  her. 

It  took  thirty-six  hours  to  get  these  sails  repaired 
and  new  ropes  spliced.  This  mending  became  in 
fact  the  rule  rather  than  the  exception.  "  Our  daily 
employment  either  mending  of  our  poor  old  sails 
'daily  broken,  or  making  new  with  such  poor  stuff 
as  we  have."  There  can  be  no  doubt  whatever  that 
these  ships  were  sent  to  sea  with  all  too  few  stores 
to  allow  of  accident.  We  have  already  seen  that 
additional  canvas  could  not  be  obtained  in  the  East, 
except  with  the  indulgence  of  some  Dutch  captain, 
who  would  naturally  charge  the  English  the  full 
value  of  a  new  sail,  and  a  bit  more.  One  wonders, 
indeed,  how  often  those  London  merchants  realised 
how  dearly  these  big  percentages  had  been  bought — 
how  only  the  dogged  determination  of  the  captains 
and  masters,  the  sufferings  of  the  crews  in  the  leaky, 
ill-found  ships  could  provide  fortunes  and  luxuries 
for  those  who  stayed  at  home  in  ease.  However, 
little  though  they  knew  it  at  the  time,  it  was  these 
ill-faring  mariners  who  were  really  buifding  up  the 
foundations  of  England's  Eastern  wealth  and  her 
Eastern  Empire.  Human  lives  in  those  harsh  days 
were  rated  low  enough,  and  a  poor,  common  sailor 
was  not  slobbered  over.  He  was  merely  one  of  the 
meshes  of  the  big  net  cast  into  the  sea  to  bring  in 
large  spoil  to  the  financiers  of  that  time.  But  it  has 
always  been  thus,  and  the  more  long-suffering  the 
seaman  has  shown  himself,  the  more  courageous  and 
patient  he  has  been,  the  more  he  has  been  treated 
with  contumely  by  those  very  persons  who  have 


PERILS  AND  ADVENTURES  103 

obtained  all  that  they  possess  through  his  achieve- 
ments. 

It  cannot  be  supposed  that  these  seventeenth- 
century  Indiamen  were  on  the  whole  happy  ships. 
The  captains  feared  mutiny  all  the  time,  and  the 
men  were  compelled  to  live  and  work  under  trying 
conditions  which  were  enough  to  break  the  spirit  of 
any  landsman.  Downton's  journal  shows  this  all  too 
well.  Take  the  following  entries,  which  are  suffi- 
ciently expressive  : — 

"  July  2.  Mr  Abraham  Lawes  conceives  he  is 
poisoned  for  that  his  stomach  falls  away,  and  he  hath 
often  inclination  to  vomit,  for  he  saith  he  was  so  at 
Venice,  when  he  was  formerly  poisoned." 

Three  days  later  Thomas  Browning  died,  and  on 
27th  July  comes  this  entry : 

"  This  day  Mr  Lawes  died  and  is  opened  by  the 
surgeon  who  took  good  note  of  his  inward  parts 
which  was  set  down  by  the  surgeon  and  divers  wit- 
nesses to  that  note."  Similarly  on  2ist  August: 
"  Men  daily  fall  down  into  great  weakness  " ;  and, 
again,  four  days  later  :  "  Edw.  Watts,  carpenter,  died 
at  midnight."  Under  the  twenty-ninth  of  the  same 
month  we  find  the  following  entry : — "  Stormy 
weather,  dry,  the  night  past  Thomas  Dickorie  died. 
Most  of  my  people  in  a  weak  estate."  The  last  day 
of  the  month  we  read  that  "  John  Ashbe  died  by  an 
imposthume  at  7  o'clock  after  noon,"  and  other  mem- 
bers of  the  ship's  company  continued  to  die  almost 
daily.  An  "  imposthume,"  by  the  way,  is  an  abscess. 

But  the  Peppercorn,  though  she  had  long  since 
crossed  the  line,  and  was  even  now  beyond  the  Bay  of 
Biscay,  was  destined  to  surfer  ill  luck  right  to  the 
end  of  her  voyage.  She  ought,  of  course,  to  have 


104  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

rounded  Ushant  and  then  squared  away  up  the 
English  Channel.  But  as  a  fact  Downton  got  right 
out  of  his  reckoning.  He  rather  imagined  that  his 
reckoning  was  wrong  and  suspected  "  all  the  instru- 
ments by  which  we  observed  the  variation  by."  The 
result  was  that  he  got  farther  to  the  north  than  he 
expected.  He  therefore  ran  right  across  the  western 
mouth  of  the  English  Channel  without  sighting  any- 
thing, so  that  eventually  he  found  himself  between 
Wales  and  Ireland — miles  and  miles  out  of  his 
course.  All  too  late  he  realised  the  mistake,  so 
determined  to  put  in  to  the  nearest  port.  He  thought 
of  Milford,  but  as  the  Peppercorn  would  not  fetch 
thither,  he  'decided  to  run  for  Waterford  in  Ireland. 
He  ran  down  to  the  coast,  but  when  off  the  entrance  a 
thick  fog  enshrouded  the  land,  so  he  had  to  put  out 
to  sea  once  more,  being  able  eventually  to  run  into 
Waterford  river  when  a  more  favourable  oppor- 
tunity presented  itself.  He  had  got  his  ship  safe 
back  into  the  Narrow  Seas,  but  he  had  arrived  a  long 
way  short  of  the  River  Thames  and  the  port  of  Lon- 
don, and  it  would  mean  the  wasting  of  further  delay 
before  the  Peppercorn's  rich  cargo  could  be  sold  in 
the  metropolis.  But  with  what  success  this  voyage 
concluded  to  the  stock-holders  we  have  already  seen. 
Apropos  of  this  voyage  there  is  still  preserved  a 
letter  written  by  Downton  "  aboard  the  Peppercorn 
to  the  Right  Worshipful  the  Indian  Company  in 
Philpot  Lane,  September  15,  1613,"  in  which  this 
captain  asks  for  "  3  cables  and  other  cordage  of 
divers  sizes,  a  set  of  sails,  sail  needles  and  twine, 
and  some  Hamburrough  lines  for  sounding  lines." 
With  regard  to  the  bad  land-fall  which  Downton 
made  coming  home,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  he 
had  reason  to  suspect  those  crude,  inaccurate 


<r<       0, 


cc       ° 

<    I' 


PERILS  AND  ADVENTURES  105 

navigation  instruments  to  which  we  have  already 
called  attention.  In  addition,  of  course,  the  early 
seventeenth-century  charts  bristled  with  errors.  As 
for  Eastern  waters,  the  English  skippers  were  much 
indebted  to  the  charts  which  the  Dutchmen  had  made 
for  themselves,  the  Dutch  at  this  time  being  the  best 
cartographers  in  the  world.  There  is  at  least  one 
instance  of  a  navigator  of  one  of  the  English  East 
India  Company's  ships  "  finding  it  to  be  truely  laid 
down  in  Plat  or  Draught  made  by  Jan  Janson  Mole, 
a  Hollander,  which  he  gave  to  Master  Hippon,  and 
he  to  the  Companie."  To  this  knowledge  received 
by  the  Company  were  adde'd  the  "  plots  "  (i.e. 
charts)  which  their  own  masters  of  ships  brought 
home  at  the  end  of  every  voyage,  amended  and 
added  to  as  their  experience  dictated.  We  have 
already  seen  that  it  was  compulsory  for  the  master 
of  every  East  Indiaman  to  deliver  to  the  Governor 
of  the  English  East  India  Company  four  copies  of 
his  journal  and  other  "  worthy  "  observations  of  his 
voyage  within  ten  days  of  his  arrival  back  in  the 
Thames.  The  information  thus  derived  was  sys- 
tematised,  and  as  time  went  on  and  the  voyages 
became  more  numerous  still  there  was  thus  accumu- 
lated a  number  of  invaluable  sailing  directions  which 
were  to  be  condensed  into  "  Rules  for  our  East 
India  Navigations  "  by  the  famous  John  Davis  of 
Limehouse,  who  had  himself  made  no  less  than  five 
voyages.  The  East  India  Company  thus  not  only 
built  its  own  ships  at  its  own  dockyard,  victualled 
them  from  its  own  stores,  but  conducted  its  own 
hydrography  department.  It  was  therefore  positively 
unique  in  its  monopolies  and  self-dependence.  Eng- 
land has  never  had  any  corporation  like  it :  and  it 
is  pretty  certain  it  never  will. 


CHAPTER    IX 

SHIPS  AND  TRADE 

WE  alluded  on  an  earlier  page  to  what  were  known 
as  "  separate  ''  voyages.  In  the  year  1612  the 
owners  of  the  different  stocks  joined  together  and 
made  one  common  capital  of  ,£740,000.  Until  that 
year  the  custom  had  been  for  a  number  of  men  to 
subscribe  together  for  one  particular  voyage  out  and 
home.  This  was  found  by  no  means  satisfactory, 
for  it  meant  there  was  too  much  rivalry  and  no 
co-operation.  Before  one  voyage  was  completed 
another  would  be  sent  out,  and  it  happened  that  out 
in  the  East  several  agents  in  their  zeal  to  obtain 
cargoes  for  their  ships  would  be  found  bidding 
against  each  other,  to  the  great  advantage  of  the 
natives  and  the  loss  of  the  English  stock-holders. 
Then,  again,  it  would  also  happen  that  the  ship  of 
one  particular  voyage  might  be  lying  empty  at  some 
Indian  port  waiting  till  her  factor  had  obtained  the 
spices  and  other  goods  destined  for  England. 
Meanwhile  the  factor  of  a  second  voyage  had  his 
goods  ready  but  no  ship  in  which  to  send  them  home. 
Each  "  voyage  "  was  thus  a  separate  and  distinct 
concern,  declining  to  have  anything  to  do  with  any 
other  "  voyage,"  or  group  of  adventurers.  When, 
therefore,  this  practice  came  to  an  end,  the  union 

106 


SHIPS  AND  TRADE  107 

made  for  strength  and  did  away  with  the  ill  feeling 
and  waste  of  energy  till  then  so  noticeable.  The 
first  joint  stock  began  in  the  year  1613  and  ended  in 
1617. 

During  this  period  twenty-nine  ships  of  the  Company 
were  employed,  and  by  the  end  of  the  year  1617  eight 
had  returned  with  cargoes,  four  had  been  either  lost 
or  broken  up,  two  had  fallen  into  the  hands  of  the 
Dutch,  and  fifteen  were  still  in  the  East  Indies. 
When  the  new  stock  was  undertaken,  most  of  these 
ships  still  in  India  were  taken  over  at  valuation. 
The  biggest  East  Indiaman  craft  at  this  time  were 
the  Royal  James,  of  1000  tons;  the  Anne  Royal,  of 
900  tons ;  and  The  New  Year's  Gift,  ol  800  tons. 

The  Master  Hippon,  of  whom  we  made  mention 
in  the  last  chapter,  had  command  of  the  Globe, 
which  set  forth  from  England  alone  and  made  direct 
for  the  Coromandel  coast  (the  south-east  portion  of 
India).  He  called  neither  at  the  Red  Sea,  the  Nico- 
bars,  nor  the  East  Indian  Archipelago.  His  mission 
was  to  inaugurate  a  new  sphere  of  trade,  and  in  so 
doing  he  was  laying  the  foundations  of  those  rich 
commercial  centres  of  Madras  and  Calcutta.  His 
work  was  not  easy,  for  the.  Dutch  would  not  allow 
him  to  operate  in  their  neighbourhood,  but  he  left  a 
little  band  of  men  near  Masulipatam  to  found  a 
factory,  and  then  went  on  to  establish  other  factories 
in  the  Malay  Peninsula  and  Siam.  In  the  year  1612 
Captain  Best  had  obtained  from  the  Court  of  Delhi 
considerable  privileges,  including  that  of  establish- 
ing a  factory  at  Surat.  This  was  to  become  the  chief 
English  station  in  India  until  the  acquisition  of 
Bombay.  In  establishing  these  factories,  the  Eng- 
lish were  but  copying  the  example  of  the  Portuguese 


108  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

and  Dutch.  They  were  essential  as  depots  for  the 
goods  brought  from  home  and  the  commodities 
which  had  been  obtained  from  the  natives,  and  were 
awaiting  the  arrival  of  the  Company's  ships.  In 
charge  of  these  factories  were  the  Company's  agents 
and  their  clerks.  But  it  is  well  to  bear  in  mind  that 
these  factories  and  factors  were  destined  to  undergo 
development.  As  a  measure  of  precaution  the 
former  were  in  the  course  of  time  strengthened,  and 
at  a  still  later  stage  they  became  even  forts,  so  that 
the  agents  and  clerks  developed  into  a  garrison. 
And  from  a  strictly  defensive  policy  a  more  aggres- 
sive influence  occurred  which  resulted  in  acquisition 
of  territory  as  well  as  trading  rights. 

Captain  Best  had  sailed  from  Gravesend  on  ist 
February  1612,  with  the  Red  Dragon  and  the  Hose- 
ander,  and  arrived  in  the  Swally,  the  roadstead  for 
Surat,  on  5th  September.  Here  also  were  the  Portu- 
guese fleet  a  few  weeks  later  ready  to  thwart  the 
English,  but  Best  was  ready  for  them,  and  event- 
ually hostilities  were  inevitable.  But  Best  had  the 
true  English  spirit  in  him,  and  besides  being  an> 
excellent  leader  of  a  trading  expedition,  he  was  also 
no  mean  tactician,  taking  advantage  of  tide  and  the 
proximity  of  sandy  shoals.  The  result  was  that  the 
English  were  victorious  and  the  Portuguese  admiral 
defeated.  But  this  meant  something  more  than  was 
immediately  apparent.  In  a  word  it  was  to  have  a 
considerable  influence  on  the  future  Anglo-Indian 
trade,  and  so  give  a  still  greater  demand  for  the 
Indian  merchant  ships.  In  order  properly  to  realise 
the  position,  you  have  to  think  of  a  weak  man  over- 
awed by  a  giant.  Another  giant  comes  along  an'd 
asks  the  weak  man  for  certain  favours.  The  latter 


SHIPS  AND  TRADE  109 

replies  that  he  would  be  willing  to  make  the  con- 
cessions if  the  second  giant  could  conquer  the  first, 
for  whom  the  weak  man  has  no  real  love.  In  the 
present  instance  the  first  giant  is  represented  by  the 
Portuguese,  the  weak  man  is  the  Great  Mogul,  and 
the  second  giant  the  English.  The  latter  had  been 
thwarted  from  trading  with  Surat  by  the  Portuguese. 
What  the  Mogul  had  said  amounted  to  this : 
:<  Defeat  the  Portuguese  and  I  will  give  you  and 
yours  every  opportunity  to  trade  in  my  dominions  : 
your  merchants  shall  not  be  molested,  the  customs 
imposed  shall  be  as  light  as  possible,  and  if  there 
is  any  delinquency  by  which  my  people  shall  in  any 
way  injure  your  men,  I  will  see  that  the  matter  is 
soon  set  right  and  redress  given.  Your  country 
shall  be  allowed  to  send  its  ambassador  and  reside 
at  my  Court — but  you  must  first  exhibit  your  strength 
by  conquering  the  hated  Portuguese." 

So  Best's  victory  succeeded  as  only  success  can. 
The  mighty  power  of  the  Portuguese  was  now 
broken  like  a  reed.  They  had  been  defeated  on 
sea  who  prided  themselves  on  sea-power.  They  had 
lost  their  prestige  with  the  natives,  who  had  had  the 
first  Europeans  in  awe.  The  whole  of  the  Portu- 
guese Indian  system,  which  had  amounted  to  piracy, 
oppression  and  native  ruin,  had  been,  in  the  words 
of  India's  great  modern  historian,  Sir  Wm.  Wilson 
Hunter,  "  rotten  to  the  core."  It  was  now  to  receive 
its  death-blow,  and  a  new  order  of  things  was  to 
follow.  Instead  of  the  previous  opposition,  the  Eng- 
lish were  now  allowed  to  open  their  trade  and  to 
start  factories  both  at  Surat  and  elsewhere,  and  the 
English  East  India  Company  obtained  a  most  firm 
footing — not  as  interlopers  doing  the  best  they  could 


110  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

against  Portuguese  vigilance,  but  recognised  by  the 
Great  Mogul  as  an  important  and  powerful  trading 
corporation.  It  was  after  these  concessions  had  been 
made  and  various  factories  set  up  that  the  latter 
needed  obvious  protection  both  from  the  Portuguese 
and  the  pirates  who  were  greatly  harassing  the  trad- 
ing ships.  Thus  on  land  the  nucleus  was  formed  of 
an  Indian  army  :  thus  afloat  the  nucleus  also  was 
formed  of  the  Bombay  Marine,  afterwards  to  be 
known  as  the  Indian  navy. 

For  the  latter  the  Company's  Surat  agent  was 
compelled  to  do  the  best  with  local  material,  collect- 
ing native  craft  called  grabs  and  gallivats  and  com- 
manded by  officers  who  volunteered  from  the 
Company's  merchant  ships.  As  these  craft,  like  all 
other  local  craft,  were  the  most  suitable  for  the 
conditions  of  the  place,  the  Company  was  well  able 
to  patrol  the  Gulf  of  Cambay  and  protect  the  vessels 
loaded  with  merchandise.  This  Indian  marine  had 
come  into  being  during  the  year  1613,  and  two  years 
later  consisted  of  ten  local  craft.  In  the  same  year 
arrived  from  England  four  of  the  Company's  ships, 
under  Captain  Keeling,  with  Sir  Thomas  Roe,  who 
had  been  sent  by  James  I.  as  ambassador  to  the 
Great  Mogul,  and  the  treaty  with  the  latter  was 
ratified. 

So  the  voyages  continued  to  be  made  between 
England  and  the  East.  There  was  still  opposition 
on  the  part  of  the  Dutch,  who  would  occasionally 
seize  the  Company's  ships,  and  in  the  year  1623  this 
opposition  reached  its  crisis  in  the  notorious  Mas- 
sacre of  Amboyna,  when  the  English  Company's 
agent  and  nine  more  Englishmen  were  executed  on 
a  trivial  charge.  Nor  were  the  Portuguese  ships 


SHIPS  AND  TRADE  111 

swept  from  the  Eastern  seas.  The  sea-power  was 
broken,  but  it  still  existed  in  its  weakly  condition, 
and  nothing  gave  the  English  seamen  greater  plea- 
sure than  to  meet  any  of  their  big  caracks  in  the 
Indian  Ocean  or  elsewhere  and  attack  them.  But 
the  factors  who  had  been  installed  at  Surat  were  in 
no  way  deficient  in  enterprise.  They  were  doing  an 
excellent  trade,  not  merely  between  England  and 
India,  but  between  India  and  Bantam.  This  was  not 
enough  :  they  were  determined  to  open  up  commerce 
with  the  Persian  Gulf. 

Now  this  meant  that  trouble  was  inevitable.  If 
the  Portuguese  had  lost  their  hold  on  India,  they 
were  certainly  just  as  strong  as  formerly  at  Ormuz 
and  other  parts  of  the  Persian  Gulf.  To  traffic,  or 
to  attempt  to  traffic,  with  this  part  of  the  Orient  was 
certain  to  mean  further  conflict  with  the  nation  which 
had  received  so  much  injury  from  Captain  Best.  For 
most  of  a  hundred  years  the  Portuguese  had  been 
enjoying  their  monopoly  up  the  Gulf.  However, 
neither  this  nor  the  certainty  of  conflict  could  turn 
aside  the  ambition  of  the  English  East  India  Com- 
pany. Their  ships  were  sent  from  Surat  with  Indian 
goods,  the  Portuguese  vessels  opposed  them,  the 
victory  went  to  the  English,  and  thus  once  more,  as 
it  had  been  in  the  territory  of  the  Great  Mogul,  so 
the  result  was  to  be  in  regard  to  the  Persian  trade. 
The  natives  realised  that  the  English  were  worth 
listening  to,  and  their  prestige  was  raised  to  the 
height  from  which  the  Portuguese  simultaneously 
dropped.  Henceforth  the  English  factors  could 
bring  from  Surat  their  calicoes  and  take  back  silks. 
A  little  later  Ormuz  was  destroyed — Ormuz  which 
had  been  the  seat  of  Portuguese  supremacy  in  the 


112  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

Persian  Gulf  and  the  centre  of  its  wealthy  trade  in 
that  region — and  thus  once  more  the  nation  which 
had  been  the  first  of  European  countries  to  unlock 
the  secrets  of  the  East  was  told  to  quit.  By  the 
year  1622 — a  short  enough  period  since  the  inaugura- 
tion of  the  East  India  Company  in  London — the 
Portuguese  had  thus  been  driven  out  from  those  very 
places  in  the  East  which  had  been  so  dear  to  them 
and  the  means  of  so  much  wealth.  By  the  year  1654 
they  had  been  compelled  to  agree  that  the  English 
should  have  the  right  to  reside  and  trade  in  all  these 
Eastern  possessions.  It  was  a  terrible  blow  to 
Portuguese  pride,  a  grievous  disappointment  to  a 
nation  which  had  done  so  much  for  the  discovery  of 
the  world,  and  enough  to  make  Prince  Henry  the 
Navigator  turn  in  his  grave.  But  it  was  inevitable, 
for  the  reason  that  as  the  Portuguese  had  declined 
in  sea-power,  so  the  English  had  been  rising  ever 
since  the  mid-sixteenth  century,  though  more  especi- 
ally during  the  latter  half  of  Elizabeth's  reign.  The 
call  of  the  sea  to  English  ears  was  being  listened  to 
more  attentively  than  ever,  and  when  that  call  sum- 
moned men  to  such  profitable  trade  it  continued  to 
be  heard  through  the  centuries.  Each  success  added 
zest  and  gave  an  increased  enthusiasm.  Men  who 
wanted  to  see  the  world,  or  to  increase  their  meagre 
incomes,  or  to  get  away  from  the  narrow  confines  of 
their  own  town  or  village  were  eager  to  take  their 
oath  to  the  Company  and  go  East,  where  a  more 
adventurous  life  awaited  them.  But  with  the  Portu- 
guese it  was  not  so.  Most  of  their  Latin  enthusiasm 
had  run  out :  they  had  begun  well,  but  they  had  been 
unable  to  sustain.  And  the  series  of  blows — the 
capture  of  their  finest  caracks,  the  revelation  of  their 


SHIPS  AND  TRADE  113 

East  Indian  secrets,  the  colossal  defeat  of  the 
Armada,  the  persistent  and  successful  impertinence 
of  English  interlopers  in  India,  the  glaring  proof 
that  English  seamanship,  navigation,  naval  strategy, 
tactics  and  gunnery  were  as  good  as  their  own — this 
succession  of  hard  facts  tended  to  break  their  spirit, 
made  them  compelled  to  bow  to  the  inevitable.  Sic 
transit  gloria  mundi. 

Between  the  years  1617  an<i  1629  the  English 
East  India  Company  had  sent  out  no  fewer  than  57 
ships,  containing  26,690  tons  of  merchandise.  In 
addition  they  employed  eighteen  pinnaces  which 
spent  their  time  trading  from  port  to  port  in  the 
East  Indies.  We  have  already  alluded  to  the  incep- 
tion of  the  Indian  navy  by  the  Surat  factory.  As 
time  went  on  this  flotilla  of  local  craft  was 
strengthened  by  big  ships  sent  out  from  England. 
But  as  this  volume  is  not  a  history  of  either  the  East 
India  Company  or  of  the  development  of  the  Indian 
navy,  we  must  confine  our  attention  to  the  story  of 
the  Company's  merchant  ships  during  the  many 
years  in  which  they  existed  with  such  marvellous  and 
unprecedented  benefit  to  India  and  the  English 
nation.  Those  who  are  interested  merely  in  the  rise 
of  the  Indian  navy  will  find  the  account  in  Captain 
Low's  volumes. 

Now  covetousness  is  a  sin  which  is  peculiar  not 
merely  to  individuals,  but  to  corporations  and  even 
nations.  You  may  be  sure  that  all  this  success  on 
the  part  of  the  East  India  Company's  ships  and  of 
their  trading  ashore  led  to  no  small  amount  of 
jealousy  and  longing  at  home.  It  is  true  that  the 
State  had  assisted  and  encouraged  the  Company  in 
every  way :  for  it  was  obvious  that  it  was  for  the 

H 


114  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

nation's  welfare  generally,  and  in  particular  a  fine 
support  for  the  navy  in  respect  of  ships,  men  and 
stores.  But  the  time  arrived  when  the  Company 
began  to  be  pinched  and  squeezed  by  the  power  that 
hitherto  had  given  only  assistance.  Covetousness 
was  at  the  bottom  of  it  all,  but  the  actual  opportunity 
had  arisen  over  the  capture  of  Ormuz,  from  which, 
it  had  been  reported,  a  large  amount  of  spoil  had 
been  taken.  It  was  easy  enough  to  invent  some 
excuse,  and  this  came  in  the  year  1624  when  the 
Company,  understanding  that  the  Portuguese  were 
preparing  a  fleet  against  them  in  Indian  waters, 
began  to  get  ready  a  squadron  of  seven  ships  to 
leave  England.  When  these  ships  were  ready  to 
sail,  the  Lord  High  Admiral  of  England,  who  hap- 
pened to  be  the  Duke  of  Buckingham,  obtained  from 
Parliament  an  order  to  lay  an  embargo  on  these  ships, 
lying  at  Tilbury.  A  claim  was  made  for  a  portion 
of  the  spoil  supposed  to  have  been  taken  at  Ormuz 
and  elsewhere.  And  in  spite  of  protests  the  sum  of 
;£  1 0,000  had  to  be  paid  before  the  ships  were  re- 
leased. About  this  time,  also,  the  Company  were 
attacked  in  Parliament  on  three  grounds  :  (i)  For 
exporting  the  treasure  of  the  kingdom,  it  being 
alleged  that  ;£  80,000  had  been  sent  out  yearly  in 
money  :  (2)  For  destroying  the  invaluable  timber  of 
the  country  by  building  exceedingly  great  ships,  the 
timber  being  wanted  for  the  navy  :  (3)  For  causing 
the  supply  of  mariners  to  become  injured  by  these 
voyages.  The  last  item  was  certainly  unreasonable  : 
for,  as  a  fact,  about  one-third,  or  sometimes  one-half, 
of  every  ship's  complement  consisted  of  landsmen, 
who  went  on  board  "  green  "  to  sea  life.  But  as 
happens  over  and  over  again,  even  in  our  luxurious 


SHIPS  AND  TRADE  115 

times,  many  a  green-horn  discovers  after  a  while 
that  the  life  of  a  seaman  is  just  what  really  suits 
him  :  and  it  was  so  with  these  landsmen  to  a  large 
extent.  The  service  opened  up  a  new  career  for 
them,  and  these  fellows  were  to  add  to  rather  than 
diminish  the  country's  supply  of  sailors. 

The  ships  were  getting  slightly  more  habitable 
and  better  built,  though  no  very  great  change  was 
taking  place.  How  unseaworthy  were  some  of  the 
Company's  best  vessels  may  be  seen  from  a  letter 
sent  on  loth  June  1614  by  Robert  Larkin,  who 
murmurs  bitterly  of  his  craft,  the  Darling.  '  The 
Darling"  he  writes,  "  complaineth  sore,  but  I  hope 
to  God  she  will  carry  us  well  to  Puttam,  and  further 
tediousness  I  omit.  But  I  wish  to  God  I  were  well 
rid  of  my  captainship,  or  the  Darling  a  sounder 
vessel  to  carry  me  in."  So  also  that  big  East  India- 
man,  the  Royal  James,  during  the  year  1617  sprang 
a  serious  leak,  and  the  way  in  which  this  was  stopped 
makes  most  interesting  reading  to  all  lovers  of  ships. 
Her  commander  at  that  time,  Captain  Martin  Pring, 
wrote  to  the  Company  on  the  i2th  of  November  of 
the  year  mentioned  that  about  a  fortnight  before 
the  Royal  James  had  reached  Swally — the  port  of 
Surat — "  we  had  a  great  leak  broke  upon  us  in  the 
James,  which  in  four  hours  increased  six  foot  water 
in  hold,  and  after  we  had  freed  it  and  made  the 
pumps  suck,  it  would  rise  thirteen  inches  in  half-an- 
hour.  It  was  a  great  blessing  of  God  that  it  fell  out 
in  such  weather,  by  which  means  we  had  the  help 
of  all  the  fleet,  otherwise  all  our  company  had  been 
tired  in  a  very  short  time.  The  9th,  we  made  many 
trials  with  a  bonnet  stitched  with  oakum  under  the 
bulge  of  the  ship,  but  it  did  no  good.  The  nth,  we 


116  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

basted  our  spritsail  with  oakum  and  let  it  down 
before  the  stem  of  the  ship  and  so  brought  it  aft 
by  degrees  :  in  which  action  it  pleased  God  so  to 
direct  us  that  we  brought  the  sail  right  under  the 
place  where  the  oakum  was  presently  sucked  into  the 
leak  :  which  stopped  it  in  such  sort  that  the  ship 
made  less  water  the  day  following  than  she  had 
done  any  day  before  from  the  time  of  our  departure 
out  of  England." 

The  device  here  employed  was  well  known  to  the 
old-fashioned  sailor,  and  designated  "  fothering." 
Briefly  the  idea  was  as  follows.  In  order  to  stop  the 
leak  a  sail  was  fastened  at  the  four  corners  and  then 
let  down  under  the  ship's  bottom,  a  quantity  of 
chopped  rope-yarns,  oakum,  cotton,  wool — anything 
in  the  least  serviceable  for  the  job — being  also  put 
in.  If  you  were  lucky  you  would  find  that  after  the 
first  few  attempts  the  leak  would  have  sucked  up 
some  of  the  oakum  or  whatever  was  put  into  the  sail, 
and  so  the  water  would  not  pour  in  as  badly.  This 
device  certainly  saved  Captain  Cook  during  one  of 
his  voyages  after  his  ship  had  struck  a  rock  and  the 
sea  poured  in  so  quickly  that  the  pumps  were  unable 
to  cope  with  it.  In  the  description  given  above  by 
Captain  Pring  you  will  notice  that  he  used  his  sprit- 
sail  for  this  purpose.  This  was  a  quadrilateral  sail 
set  at  the  end  of  the  bowsprit,  but  was  abolished 
from  East  Indiamen  and  other  ships  in  the  early 
part  of  the  nineteenth  century.  At  first,  you  will 
observe,  the  bonnet — doubtless  the  bonnet  of  the 
mainsail — the  use  of  which  we  described  on  an 
earlier  page,  was  tried  and  lowered  under  the 
"  bulge  "  (or,  as  we  now  say,  the  "  bilge  ")  of  the 
ship.  "  Stitched  with  oakum  "  means  that  the  little 


SHIPS  AND  TRADE  117 

tufts  of  oakum  were  lightly  stitched  to  the  canvas 
just  to  keep  them  in  position  until  the  suction  of 
the  leak  drew  them  up  the  hole  away  from  the 
canvas.  When  he  says  he  "  basted  "  the  spritsail 
with  oakum  he  means  again  that  the  latter  was  sewn 
with  light  stitches.  This  spritsail  was  lowered  down 
at  the  bows  till  it  got  below  the  ship's  forefoot  and 
then  brought  gradually  aft  till  the  position  of  the 
leak  was  reached,  and  then  the  oakum  was  sucked 
up  with  the  happy  result  noted.  This  all  reads 
much  simpler  than  it  was  in  actuality :  and  you  can 
imagine  that  it  was  no  easy  matter  getting  this  sail 
into  its  exact  position  while  the  ship  was  plunging 
and  rolling  in  a  seaway. 

Eventually  the  Royal  James  got  over  the  bar  at 
Swally,  and  a  consultation  was  then  held  aboard  her 
by  Captain  Pring  and  a  number  of  other  captains  as 
to  what  had  now  best  be  done.  One  opinion  was  to 
careen  her  so  as  to  get  at  the  leak  and  caulk  it. 
Another  opinion  was  to  "  bring  her  aground  for  the 
speedy  stopping  of  her  dangerous  leak."  But  these 
captains  had  before  their  minds  the  recollection  that 
the  Trade's  Increase  had  been  lost  whilst  being 
careened,  and  another  ship  named  the  Hector  like- 
wise :  so  they  unanimously  agreed  that  the  best  thing 
would  be  to  put  the  Royal  James  ashore,  first  taking 
out  of  her  the  merchandise.  They  were  more  than  a 
little  nervous  as  to  how  this  big  ship  would  take  the 
ground,  so  "  for  a  trial  "  they  brought  ashore  the 
Francis,  an  interloping  vessel  which  they  had  cap- 
tured. When  it  was  seen  that  the  Francis  seemed  to 
take  the  ground  all  right  and  that  she  lay  there  three 
tides  without  apparent  injury  "  and  never  com- 
plained in  any  part,"  they  put  the  Royal  James 


118  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

ashore  also.  Unluckily  this  was  not  with  the  same 
amount  of  success,  "  for  she  strained  very  much 
about  the  midship  and  made  her  bends  to  droop  : 
which  caused  us  to  haul  her  off  again  so  soon  that 
we  had  not  time  to  find  the  leak.  Yet  (God  be 
praised)  since  we  came  afloat  her  bends  are  much 
righted  and  she  hath  remained  very  tight :  God  grant 
she  may  so  long  continue." 

When  Sir  Thomas  Roe  went  out  from  England  in 
the  year  1615  to  Surat  as  English  Ambassador  to 
the  Great  Mogul,  he  was  accompanied  by  Edward 
Terry,  his  chaplain.  The  latter  has  left  behind  an 
account  of  his  voyage  to  India,  and  though  we 
cannot  do  much  more  than  call  attention  thereto, 
we  may  in  passing  note  that  this  setting  forth  shows 
how  much  valuable  time  was  wasted  in  those  days 
waiting  for  a  fair  wind.  For  these  seventeenth- 
century  ships  had  neither  the  fine  lines  nor  the 
superiority  of  rig  which  was  afterwards  to  make  the 
East  Indiamen  famous  throughout  the  world.  The 
Company's  seventeenth-century  ships  were  clumsy 
as  to  their  proportions,  they  were  built  according  to 
rule-of -thumb,  the  stern  was  unnecessarily  high,  the 
bows  unnecessarily  low.  Triangular  headsails  had 
not  yet  been  adopted,  except  by  comparatively  small 
fore-and-aft-rigged  craft,  such  as  yachts  and  coasters. 
The  mizen  was  still  of  the  lateen  shape,  but  all  the 
other  sails  were  quadrilateral,  even  to  the  spritsail, 
which  was  suspended  at  the  outer  end  of  the  bowsprit 
and  below  that  spar.  Above  the  latter  on  a  small 
mast  was  hoisted  another  small  squaresail,  and  then 
at  the  after  end  of  the  bowsprit  (which  was  very  long 
and  practically  a  mast)  came  the  foremast,  stepped 
as  far  forward  as  it  could  go. 


SHIPS  AND  TRADE  119 

With  this  unhandy  rig,  the  bluff-bowed  hulls  with 
their  clumsy  design  and  heavy  tophamper  could 
make  little  or  no  progress  in  a  head  wind.  They 
were  all  right  for  running  before  the  wind,  or  with 
the  wind  on  the  quarter  :  but  not  only  could  they  not 
point  close  to  the  wind,  but  even  when  they  tried  they 
made  a  terrible  lot  of  leeway.  It  was  therefore  hope- 
less to  try  and  beat  down  the  English  Channel. 
Most  seamen  are  aware  that  the  prevailing  winds 
over  the  British  Isles  are  from  the  south-west,  but 
that  often  between  about  February  and  the  end  of 
June,  more  especially  in  the  earlier  part  of  the  year, 
one  can  expect  north-east  or  easterly  spells.  The  old 
East  Indiamen  therefore  availed  themselves  of  this. 
For  a  fair  wind  down  Channel  was  a  thing  much 
to  be  desired,  and  a  long  time  would  be  spent  in 
waiting  for  it.  As  these  awkward  ships  had  to  work 
their  tides  down  the  River  Thames,  then  drop  anchor 
for  a  tide,  and  take  the  next  ebb  down,  their  progress 
till  they  got  round  the  North  Foreland  was  anything 
but  fast. 

O"f  all  this  Edward  Terry's  account  gives  ample 
illustration.  He  was  a  cleric  and  no  seaman,  but 
he  had  the  sense  of  observation  and  recorded  what 
he  observed.  It  was  on  the  3rd  of  February  1615 
that  the  squadron,  including  the  flagship  Charles — a 
"  New-built  goodly  ship  of  a  thousand  Tuns  (in 
which  I  sayled)  .  .  .  fell  down  from  Graves-send  into 
Tilbury  Hope."  Here  they  remained  until  8th 
February,  when  they  weighed  anchor,  and  not  till 
1 2th  February  had  they  weathered  the  North  Fore- 
land and  brought  up  in  the  Downs,  where  they 
remained  for  weeks  waiting  till  a  fair  wind  should 
oblige  them.  On  the  gth  of  March  the  longed-for 


120  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

north-easter  came,  when  they  immediately  got  under 
way  and  two  days  later  passed  the  meridian  of  the 
Lizard  during  the  night.  With  the  wind  in  such  a 
quarter  these  Indiamen  would  bowl  along  just  as 
fast  as  their  ill-designed  hulls  could  be  forced 
through  the  water,  making  a  lot  of  fuss  and  beating 
the  waves  instead  of  cutting  through  them  as  in  the 
case  of  the  last  of  the  East  Indiamen  which  ever 
sailed. 

By  the  iQth  of  May  they  had  passed  the  Tropic 
of  Capricorn  and  Terry  marvelled  at  the  sight  of 
whales,  which  were  "  of  an  exceeding  greatnesse  " 
and  "  appear  like  unto  great  Rocks."  Sharks  were 
seen,  and  even  in  those  days  the  inherent  delight  of 
the  seaman  for  capturing  and  killing  his  deadly 
enemy  was  very  much  in  existence.  As  these  cruel 
fish  swam  about  the  Charles  the  sailors  would  cast 
overboard  "  an  iron  hook  .  .  .  fastened  to  a  roap 
strong  like  it,  bayted  with  a  piece  of  beefe  of  five 
pounds  weight." 

The  squadron  duly  arrived  in  Swally  Roads  on 
the  1 8th  of  September.  Sir  Thomas  Roe  performed 
his  mission  to  the  Great  Mogul,  and  eventually 
reached  England  again.  So  also  Edward  Terry, 
after  having  been  for  some  time  in  the  East  India 
Company's  service,  was  made  rector  of  Great  Green- 
ford,  Middlesex,  and  in  the  year  1649  we  find  him 
one  day  in  September  preaching  a  "  sermon  of 
thanksgiving"  in  the  Church  of  St  Andrew's,  Under- 
shaft,  before  the  Committee  of  these  East  India 
Company  merchants.  The  occasion  was  the  return 
of  seven  of  the  Company's  ships  which  had  arrived 
from  the  Orient  together — "  a  great  and  an  unex- 
pected mercy  "  after  a  "  long,  and  tedious,  and 


SHIPS  AND  TRADE  121 

hazardous  voyage."  Terry's  discourse  is  typical 
of  the  pompous,  obsequious  period.  We  can  almost 
see  these  worthy  East  India  merchants  strolling 
into  the  church  and  taking  their  places  by  no  means 
unconscious  of  their  self-importance,  yet  not 
ashamed  to  do  their  duty  and  give  thanks  for  the 
safe  arrival  of  ships  and  their  rich  cargoes.  Many 
of  them,  if  not  all,  had  never  been  out  of  England. 
Terry  had  been  to  India  and  back  :  he  was  therefore 
no  ordinary  rector,  and  he  rose  to  the  occasion.  He 
hurls  tags  of  Latin  quotations  at  his  hearers  and 
then,  after  referring  to  the  great  riches  which  they 
were  obtaining  from  the  East,  reminds  these  mer- 
chants that  there  are  richer  places  to  be  found  than 
both  the  East  Indies  and  the  West,  better  ports  than 
Surat  or  even  Bantam,  and  so  went  on  to  speak  of 
the  land  where  "  nor  rust,  nor  moth,  nor  fire,  nor 
time  can  consume,"  where  the  pavement  is  gold  and 
the  walls  are  of  precious  stones.  And  then,  after 
this  simple,  direct  homily,  the  Committee  came  out 
from  their  pews  and  went  back  to  their  daily  pursuits. 
If  these  seventeenth-century  men  were  crude  and 
had  lost  some  of  the  religious  zeal  of  the  pre- 
Reformation  sailors,  they  still  retained  as  a  relic  of 
the  Puritan  influence  a  narrow  but  sincere  personal 
piety.  And  this  comes  out  in  the  following  prayer 
which  was  wont  to  be  use'd  aboard  the  East  India- 
man  ships  of  the  late  seventeenth  century.  It  is 
called  "  A  prayer  for  the  Honourable  English  Com- 
pany trading  to  the  East  Indies,  to  be  used  on  board 
their  ships,"  and  bears  the  imprimatur  of  the  Arch- 
bishop of  Canterbury  and  the  Bishop  of  London, 
who  append  their  signatures  to  the  statement  that 
"  we  do  conceive  that  this  prayer  may  be  very  proper 


122  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

to  be  used,  for  the  purpose  expressed  in  the  tittle 
of  it."  It  has  none  of  the  beautiful  English  of  the 
Middle  Ages,  for  liturgical  ability,  like  stained-glass 
window  painting,  was  at  this  time  a  lost  art.  But  for 
its  simple  sincerity,  its  suggestive  deep  realisation  of 
the  terrors  of  the  sea,  its  true  pathos  and  its  plain 
religious  confidence,  it  is  characteristic  of  the  period 
and  the  minds  of  the  men  who  joined  in  this 
prayer : — 

"  O  Almighty  and  most  Merciful  Lord  God, 
Thou  art  the  Soveraign  Protector  of  all  that  Trust 
in  Thee,  and  the  Author  of  all  Spiritual  and  Tem- 
poral Blessings.  Let  Thy  Grace,  we  most  humbly 
beseech  thee,  be  always  Present  with  thy  Servants 
the  English  Company  Trading  to  the  East  Indies. 
Compass  them  with  thy  Favour  as  with  a  shield. 
Prosper  them  in  all  their  Publick  Undertakings, 
and  make  them  Successful  in  all  their  Affairs  both 
by  Sea  and  Land.  Grant  that  they  may  prove  a 
common  Blessing,  by  the  Increase  of  Honour, 
Wealth  and  Power  ...  by  promoting  the  Holy 
Religion  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Be  more  espe- 
cially at  this  time  favourable  to  us,  who  are  separated 
from  all  the  world,  and  have  our  sole  dependance 
upon  thee  here  in  the  great  waters.  Thou  shewest 
they  wonders  in  the  Deep,  by  commanding  the 
Winds  and  the  Seas  as  thou  pleasest,  and  thou  alone 
canst  bring  us  into  the  Haven  where  we  would  be. 
To  they  Power  and  Mercy  therefore  we  humbly  fly 
for  Refuge  and  Protection  from  all  Dangers  of  this 
long  and  Perilous  voyage.  Guard  us  continually 
with  thy  good  Providence  in  every  place.  Preserve 
our  Relations  and  Friends  whom  we  have  left,  and 
at  length  bring  us  home  to  them  again  in  safety  and 


SHIPS  AND  TRADE  128 

with  the  desired  Success.  Grant  that  every  one  of 
us,  being  always  mindful  of  thy  Fatherly  Goodness, 
and  Tender  Compassion  towards  us,  may  glorifie 
thy  Name  by  a  constant  Profession  of  the  Christian 
Faith,  and  by  a  Sober,  Just  and  Pious  Conversation 
through  the  remaining  part  of  our  Lives.  All  this 
we  beg  for  the  sake  of  our  Saviour  Jesus  Christ,  to 
whom  with  thee  and  the  Blessed  Spirit  be  ascrib'd 
all  Honour,  Praise  and  Dominion  both  now  and  for 
evermore.  Amen/5 


CHAPTER   X 

FREIGHTING  THE   EAST  INDIAMEN 

THE  joint  stock  arrangement,  as  distinct  from  the 
separate  voyages,  which  had  been  instituted  in  1613 
worked  very  well :  and  after  the  Restoration  the 
practice  of  buying  and  selling  shares  became  com- 
mon, the  system  approximating  to  that  of  modern 
times.  The  Company's  ships  were  continuing  to 
bring  back  much  wealth  to  the  shareholders,  but 
again  covetous  desires  had  to  be  appeased.  In  the 
year  1649  tne  Commissioners  of  the  Navy  con- 
strained the  East  India  Company  to  lend  them 
,£4000.  It  was  in  the  year  1654  that  Cromwell,  by 
means  of  his  treaty  with  the  Portuguese,  obtained 
the  right  of  English  ships  to  trade  with  any  Portu- 
guese possessions  in  the  East  Indies.  Now  this 
meant  a  very  handsome  additional  benefit  to  the 
East  India  Company's  ships.  Cromwell  was  shrewd 
enough  to  know  what  he  was  about,  and  accordingly 
in  the  following  year  got  his  quid  -pro  quo  when  he 
succeeded  in  borrowing  ,£50,000  from  the  Company, 
seeing  that  the  latter  had  gained  so  much  from 
national  successes;  and  a  little  later  on  in  the  same 
year  obtained  from  the  same  source  another  £  10,000 
to  pay  Blake's  seamen,  whose  wages  were  in  arrears. 
And  this  was  not  the  last  instance  of  the  Company 
being  fleeced  by  the  State. 

124 


FREIGHTING  THE  EAST  INDIAMEN       125 

In  the  year  1640  permission  had  been  obtained 
from  the  native  authorities  to  build  the  first  of  the 
Company's  forts  in  India.  This  became  known  as 
Fort  St  George  (Madras),  and  in  the  year  1658  the 
Madras  settlement  was  raised  to  a  presidency.  In 
1645  tne  Company  had  begun  to  establish  factories 
in  Bengal,  so  the  ports  for  the  East  Indiamen  were 
now  becoming  more  numerous,  and  the  area  from 
which  the  cargoes  could  be  obtained  was  being  widely 
extended.  The  Portuguese,  as  we  have  seen,  were 
now  out  of  the  running  as  regards  the  East.  And 
as  for  the  repeated  collisions  which  the  English  had 
with  the  Dutch,  the  three  Anglo-Dutch  wars  which 
had  been  long  foreseen,  as  they  were  destined  long 
to  last,  had  given  quite  a  new  complexion  to  affairs 
in  India,  leaving  the  English  East  India  Company 
in  a  position  stronger  than  ever.  One  of  the  stipula- 
tions had  been  that  the  Dutch  should  indemnify  the 
English  merchants  and  factors  in  India  with  regard 
to  the  massacre  at  Amboyna,  and  the  guilty  parties 
therein  concerned  were  to  be  punished.  In  1664  the 
French  East  India  Company  had  been  formed,  and 
ten  years  later  the  foundation  of  their  settlement  at 
Pondicherry  was  laid. 

In  the  year  1681  the  Company  had  developed 
their  fleet  to  such  an  extent  that  they  now  owned 
about  thirty-five  ships,  ranging  in  size  from  775  to 
100  tons.  In  customs  alone  the  Company  were  pay- 
ing ;£  60,000  a  year,  and  they  were  carrying  out  to 
India  ;£  60,000  or  ,£70,000  worth  of  lead,  tin,  cloth 
and  stuffs  every  year,  bringing  back  raw  silk,  pepper 
and  other  goods  of  the  East.  By  the  year  1683  so 
profitable  were  the  annual  results  of  the  Company's 
trading  that  a  ^100  share  would  sell  for  ,£500. 


126  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

Before  long  the  size  of  the  ships  just  mentioned  was 
to  increase  to  900  and  even  to  1300  tons,  such  was 
the  demand  for  Indian  products;  and  between  the 
years  1682  and  1689  no  fewer  than  sixteen  East 
Indiamen  varying  in  size  from  900  to  1300  tons 
were  constructed.  All  the  East  Indiamen  were  well 
armed,  for  even  in  the  year  1677,  when  the  Company 
owned  from  thirty  to  thirty-five  ships  of  from  300  to 
600  tons  apiece,  these  vessels  each  mounted  from 
forty  to  seventy  guns. 

It  will  be  recollected  that  Bantam  had  been  the 
first  headquarters  or  chief  factory  whither  the  Com- 
pany's ships  went  for  their  trade.  This  continued 
until  1638,  when  Surat  had  developed  so  much, 
thanks  to  the  concessions  by  the  Great  Mogul,  that 
it  replaced  Bantam  in  pre-eminence.  The  last- 
mentioned  factory,  together  with  Fort  St  George  in 
Madras,  Hooghly  in  Bengal,  and  those  establish- 
ments in  Persia  were  all  made  subservient  to  Surat. 
A  far-sighted  person  could  have  foreseen  that  all 
these  scattered  strongholds  of  trade  might  not 
improbably  develop  eventually  into  something  very 
much  more  important  politically.  But  it  was  Sir 
Josiah  Child,  the  principal  manager  of  the  Com- 
pany's affairs  at  home,  who  was  one  of  the  first  to 
project  the  forming  of  a  territorial  Empire  in  India. 

We  had  reason  to  mention  just  now  a  ship  which 
we  described  as  being  an  interloper.  The  reader  is 
well  aware  that  in  the  first  instance  the  charter 
granted  to  the  English  East  India  Company  by 
Queen  Elizabeth  conveyed  to  them  the  exclusive 
privilege  of  trading  to  the  East.  This  charter  was 
renewed  in  the  years  1609,  1657,  1661  and  subse- 
quently in  other  years.  But  such  was  the  jealousy, 
such  the  covetousness  which  were  aroused  by  the 


FREIGHTING  THE  EAST  INDIAMEN       127 

Company's  successful  voyages  that  a  number  of 
interlopers,  quite  contrary  to  the  terms  of  the  charter, 
fitted  out  expeditions  of  their  own.  These  were 
evidently  successful,  too,  especially  during  the  latter 
part  of  the  reign  of  Charles  II.,  for  the  number  of 
these  private  adventurers  increased  considerably. 
The  result,  of  course,  was  that  the  Company  became 
exceedingly  indignant  and  had  to  exert  themselves 
to  put  an  end  to  the  trouble.  But  this,  again, 
opened  up  the  whole  of  the  question  as  to  whether 
the  Company  should  continue  to  enjoy  such  a  fine 
monopoly.  There  was  a  good  deal  of  resentment 
against  India  being  restricted  to  a  favoured  few. 
However  the  Government  favoured  the  Company, 
for  it  had  been  found  more  than  useful  to  the  country 
in  times  of  crisis,  so  again  in  the  year  1693  it  received 
its  fresh  charter. 

But  between  the  years  1694  and  1698  this  Eastern 
trade  practically  was  thrown  open.  And  then  the 
State  happened  to  require  a  loan  of  ^2,000,000. 
This  was  found  by  a  newly  formed  company  of 
associated  merchants  who  had  been  very  vigorous 
in  opposing  the  East  India  Company's  privilege. 
And  since  this  new  company  wanted  only  eight  per 
cent,  (not  a  high  rate  for  those  days)  for  their  loan, 
they  also  received  a  charter.  The  result  was  that 
there  were  two  companies  trading  to  India  and  each 
with  its  own  charter.  The  title  of  this  fresh  associa- 
tion was  the  New  East  India  Company,  and  pres- 
ently a  kind  of  third  company  arose  as  an  offshoot 
from  this  second  one.  All  this  competition  had  a 
most  disastrous  effect  and  brought  both  the  old  and 
new  companies  almost  to  ruin.  Each  company  hated 
the  other,  while  the  public  detested  both  most 
heartily.  There  were  only  two  possibilities  open. 


128  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

Either  both  companies  must  be  wrecked  or  they  must 
amalgamate.  It  was  wisely  decided  to  choose  the 
latter.  They  therefore  adjusted  their  differences, 
and  in  the  year  1708  were  amalgamated  into  one 
corporation,  calling  themselves  "  The  United  Com- 
pany of  Merchants  of  England  Trading  to  the  East 
Indies."  The  capital  was  increased  to  ;£ 3, 200,000. 
They  were  the  means  of  aiding  the  Government  by 
advancing  to  the  latter  ,£1,200,000  without  interest, 
and  the  Government  in  turn  agreed  to  extend  the 
Company's  charter  till  the  year  1726,  with  three 
years'  notice  of  termination.  And  it  was  subse- 
quently extended  till  1766. 

During  the  last  decade  of  the  seventeenth  century 
when  hostilities  existed  between  England  and 
France  the  East  India  Company  laid  before  the 
House  of  Lords  an  account  of  the  great  losses  which 
the  former  had  incurred  at  sea,  owing  to  the  lack  of 
English  cruisers.  Those  were  no  easy  times  for  the 
ships  bound  either  to  or  from  the  Orient,  for,  besides 
possible  attacks  from  French  men-of-war,  the  Eng- 
lish Channel  and  approaches  thereto  were  alive  with 
privateers,  to  the  great  detriment  of  the  Anglo-Indian 
trade.  Some  idea  of  the  size  and  strength  of  the 
East  India  Company's  ships  about  this  time  may  be 
gathered  from  the  following  list  of  craft  which  the 
French  captured  from  them  during  the  year  1694 
alone  : — 

Name  of  Ship  Tonnage  Men  Guns 

Princess  of  Denmark     .         .     670  133  40 
Seymour       ....     500 

Success          ....     400  80  32 

Defence        .         .         .         .     7  50  150  50 

Resolution    ....     650  130  40 


FREIGHTING  THE  EAST  INDIAMEN      129 

In  later  years  one  of  the  most  valuable  com- 
modities which  India  was  to  produce  and  send  to 
England  in  these  ships  was  tea.  The  first  importa- 
tion by  us  was  in  the  year  1667.  Only  a  small 
amount,  consisting  of  100  lb.,  was  sent,  but  it  was 
not  long  before  this  was  greatly  excee_ded.  How- 
ever, the  early  years  of  the  eighteenth  century  were 
marked  by  a  disappointment  in  the  trade  which  the 
Company  was  doing.  Although  the  latter's  ships 
were  now  trading  also  with  China,  yet  the  value  of 
our  exports  to  the  East  were  less  than  ,£160,000  a 
year  :  and  this,  let  it  be  remembered,  included  also 
military  stores  for  the  Company's  settlements  in  the 
East  and  at  St  Helena.  The  reason  for  this  slump 
is  easily  explained.  Every  authority  will  admit  that 
the  finest  tonic  for  trade  is  competition.  Monopoly 
is  death  to  enterprise,  while  a  spirit  of  rivalry  en- 
courages progress.  The  East  India  Company  was 
suffering  from  the  decaying,  deadening  influence  of 
its  exclusive  privilege  and  this  went  on  till  about  the 
middle  of  the  eighteenth  century.  The  first  half  of 
that  century  is  decadent,  not  merely  with  regard  to 
India,  but  most  things  English.  Art  was  at  its 
lowest,  manners  were  never  less  sincere,  morals  were 
corrupt,  politics  were  little  better.  It  almost  seems 
as  if  England  had  lost  the  fair  wind  which  had 
carried  her  through  the  Tudor  times  and  then 
become  gradually  becalmed  in  the  Stuart  era  till 
she  rolled  about  with  no  progress,  making  only  stern- 
way.  And  then,  after  a  period  of  profitless  existence, 
she  seems  to  have  picked  up  another  breeze  which 
has  sent  her  along  through  the  successful  industrial 
age,  the  great  wars,  the  Victorian  and  Edwardian 
years  of  prosperity  up  till  to-day.  The  end  of  the 
eighteenth  century  is  a  period  quite  different  from  its 


130  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

first  portion.  And  if  it  was  so  generally  it  could 
scarcely  be  different  in  regard  to  a  corporation 
directed  and  managed  by  men  of  this  period. 

Just  for  a  moment  let  us  go  back  to  that  time  when 
the  East  India  Company  decided  it  were  best  to 
close  the  Deptf  ord  yard  and  obtain  their  ships  ready 
built.  Now  as  time  went  on  the  hiring  of  ships  to 
the  Company  for  this  Eastern  trade  led  to  great 
abuses.  Officially  the  Company  did  no  longer  build 
their  ships.  But  the  Company's  directors  used  to 
build  them  privately  and  then  hire  them  out  to  the 
Company,  to  the  great  personal  gain  of  the  directors. 
There  were  few  other  ships  big  enough  or  strong 
enough.  The  directors  would  know  how  many  to 
build  and  to  what  extent  prices  could  be  demanded 
from  the  Company  :  and  altogether  they  feathered 
their  nests  very  nicely.  This  went  on  till  the  year 
1708,  when  the  old  and  new  East  India  companies 
had  become  amalgamated.  After  this  year  the 
directors  were  prohibited  by  Act  of  Parliament  from 
supplying  ships  to  the  Company. 

Instead  of  the  former  corrupt  arrangement,  ships 
for  the  East  India  Company  were  to  be  hired  in  the 
future  by  open  tender  from  the  commander  and  two 
owners.  But  here  again  was  a  difficulty.  Inasmuch 
as  a  special  type  of  stalwart  ship  was  required  for 
this  trade,  the  supply  was  small  and  in  the  hands  of 
a  ring  called  the  Marine  Interest.  Therefore  the 
Company  was  just  about  as  badly  off  as  before. 
And  throughout  the  eighteenth  century  there  was  one 
continued  contest  between  the  East  India  Company 
and  the  shipbuilders,  who  did  their  level  best  to 
fleece  the  former  as  it  had  been  fleeced  by  the  State 
at  different  dates. 


FREIGHTING  THE  EAST  INDIAMEN       131 

For  the  East  India  Company  did  not  literally  own 
their  ships,  even  though  they  were  called  East  India- 
men,  flew  the  Company's  flag  and  made  their  regular 
voyages.  A  shipping  company  to-day  buys  and 
owns  its  own  ships,  but  the  East  India  Company  had 
quite  a  different  method.  Up  to  the  time  when  the 
old  and  new  companies  were  amalgamated,  in  the 
year  1708,  the  owners  and  the  Company  were  un- 
fettered by  any  legislative  provision.  They  could 
settle  and  adjust  the  points  between  themselves,  and 
since  the  directors  were  part  owners  you  may  be  sure 
there  was  little  cause  for  dispute  !  But  the  by-law 
which  came  into  force  after  the  union  of  the  two 
companies,  prohibiting  directors  from  being  con- 
cerned in  hiring  ships  to  the  Company,  brought 
about  a  rather  curious  order  of  things.  They  were 
hired  for  so  many  voyages  at  so  much  a  ton,  the 
Company  binding  itself  to  freight  a  stipulated  num- 
ber of  tons.  These,  by  the  way,  were  generally  less 
than  the  official  measurement.  About  the  year  1700 
the  largest  East  Indiamen  were  under  500  tons, 
though  their  burthen  was  one-third  greater. 

Under  the  new  arrangement  the  ships  were  to  be 
taken  up  by  the  Company  and  their  respective  voy- 
ages agreed  to  in  a  Court  of  Directors  by  ballot. 
No  tenders  were  to  be  accepted  except  such  as  had 
been  made  by  the  commander  and  two  owners  of 
each  ship.  Furthermore,  the  sale  of  the  post  as 
captain  or  any  other  office  was  forbidden  in  the  Com- 
pany's ships.  This  latter  was  an  important  modifica- 
tion. The  actual  owner  of  the  ship  from  whom  the 
vessel  was  hired  was  termed  the  ship's  husband,  and 
the  practice  had  been  for  him  to  sell  the  command 
of  the  ship  to  a  captain  whom  he  would  select.  The 


132  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

expression  in  this  case  was  to  "  sell  the  ship,"  and  a 
captain  would  sometimes  pay  as  much  as  ^8000  or 
;£  1 0,000  for  the  privilege  of  the  appointment,  be- 
cause this  position  afforded  him  unique  opportunities 
of  making  some  handsome  profits  by  the  goods  he 
brought  home  from  the  East  in  his  ship  as  his  own 
perquisites.  To  such  an  extent  did  this  practice 
become  established  that  the  sale  of  a  command  be- 
came transferable  property  of  the  captain  who  had 
bought  it.  Whenever  he  died  or  resigned  his  heirs 
or  he  himself  had  the  undoubted  right  to  dispose  of 
the  billet  to  the  highest  bidder. 

The  reason  for  the  abolition  of  this  custom  was 
that  it  was  largely  responsible  for  the  high  rates  of 
freight  which  the  Company  was  forced  to  pay.  A 
compensation  was  paid  to  the  captains  in  the  service 
at  the  time  of  the  abolition,  but  henceforth  money 
could  not  buy  the  command  of  a  ship  for  a  man  that 
was  not  adequately  qualified  for  the  post.  Previously 
commands  of  ships  had  been  held  in  some  cases  by 
men  who  possessed  no  right  to  such  responsible 
tasks.  Captain  Eastwick,  a  master  mariner  of  the 
eighteenth  century,  who  has  happily  left  behind  his 
autobiography,  relates  among  a  number  of  interest- 
ing personal  reminiscences  that  he  married  the  niece 
of  a  man  who  was  sole  owner  of  one  East  Indiaman 
and  part  owner  of  two  more  of  these  ships.  It  was 
therefore  suggested  that  Eastwick  should  enter  the 
Honourable  Company's  service,  and  a  command  was 
promised  as  soon  as  he  was  qualified.  '  This  was  a 
very  tempting  offer,"  writes  the  old  sailor,  "  as  there 
was  no  service  equal  to  it,  or  more  difficult  to  get 
into,  requiring  great  interest." 

"  It  was  the  practice  of  the  Company  in  those 


FREIGHTING  THE  EAST  INDIAMEN       133 

days  to  charter  ships  from  their  owners ;  these  vessels 
were  especially  built  for  the  service,  and  were 
generally  run  for  about  four  voyages,  when  they  were 
held  to  be  worn  out,  and  their  places  taken  by  others 
built  for  the  purpose.  About  thirty  ships  were  re- 
quired for  the  Company  every  year,"  he  states,  and 
then  goes  on  to  say  that  "  there  was  never  any 
written  engagement  on  the  part  of  either  the  owners 
or  the  Company  as  to  the  continuance  of  these 
charters,  but  the  custom  of  contract  was  so  well 
established  that  both  parties  mutually  relied  upon  it, 
and  considered  themselves  bound  by  ties  of  honour 
to  observe  their  implied  customary  engagements. 
When,  therefore,  a  ship's  turn  arrived  to  be  em- 
ployed, the  owner,  as  a  matter  of  form,  submitted  a 
tender  in  writing  to  be  engaged,  and  proposed  a 
particular  person  as  captain,  and  this  tender  and 
proposal  were  always  accepted.  Thus  the  owners  of 
these  East  Indiamen  had  everything  in  their  own 
hands,  and  the  favour  of  one  of  them  was  a  fine  thing 
to  obtain,  leading  to  appointments  of  great  emolu- 


ment." 


Some  idea  of  the  value  of  the  East  Indiaman 
captain's  appointment  may  be  gathered  from  what 
Eastwick  remarks  under  this  head.  '  The  captain 
of  an  East  Indiaman,  in  addition  to  his  pay  and 
allowances,  had  the  right  of  free  outward  freight  to 
the  extent  of  fifty  tons,  being  only  debarred  from 
exporting  certain  articles,  such  as  woollens,  metals, 
and  warlike  stores.  On  the  homeward  voyage  he 
was  allotted  twenty  tons  of  free  freight,  each  of 
thirty-two  feet;  but  this  tonnage  was  bound  to  con- 
sist of  certain  scheduled  goods,  and  duties  were  pay- 
able thereon  to  the  Company.  As  the  rate  of  freight 


184  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

in  those  days  was  about  £2$  a  ton,  this  privilege 
was  a  very  valuable  one.  Of  course  much  depended 
upon  the  skill  and  good  management  of  the  in- 
dividual commander,  the  risk  of  the  market,  his 
knowledge  of  its  requirements,  and  his  own  con- 
nections and  interest  to  procure  him  a  good  profit. 
In  addition  to  the  free  tonnage,  he  further  enjoyed 
certain  advantages  in  the  carrying  of  passengers,  for 
although  the  allowance  of  passage  money  outward 
and  homeward  was  arbitrarily  fixed  by  the  Com- 
pany, there  being  a  certain  number  of  passengers 
assigned  to  each  vessel,  and  their  fares  duly  deter- 
mined, ranging  from  ^95  for  a  subaltern  and 
assistant-surgeon  to  ^235  for  a  general  officer,  with 
from  one  and  a  half  to  three  and  a  half  tons  of  free 
baggage,  exclusive  of  bedding  and  furniture  for 
their  cabins,  yet  it  was  possible  for  captains,  by 
giving  up  their  own  apartments  and  accommodation, 
to  make  very  considerable  sums  for  themselves.  In 
short,  the  gains  to  a  prudent  commander  averaged 
from  ^4000  to  ^5000  a  voyage,  sometimes  perhaps 
falling  as  low  as  ^2000,  but  at  others  rising  to 
;£  1 0,000  and  ,£12,000.  The  time  occupied  from 
the  period  of  a  ship  commencing  receipt  of  her  out- 
ward cargo  to  her  being  finally  cleared  of  her  home- 
ward one  was  generally  from  fourteen  to  eighteen 
months,  and  three  or  four  voyages  assured  any  man 
a  very  handsome  fortune." 

But  though  these  commands  were  very  expensive 
to  purchase  and  highly  remunerative  when  obtained, 
yet  like  the  professional  man  to-day  this  high  re- 
muneration was  preceded  by  years  of  bad  pay. 
Before  a  man  could  obtain  the  command  of  an  East 
Indiaman  he  must  necessarily  have  made  a  voyage 


FREIGHTING  THE  EAST  INDIAMEN       135 

as  fifth  or  sixth  mate,  then  another  voyage  as  third 
or  fourth  mate,  and  finally  a  third  voyage  as  first  or 
second  mate.  Now  these  junior  officers  in  the  Com- 
pany's service  were  quite  unable  to  live  on  their  pay 
"  and  it  required  a  private  capital  of  at  least  five 
hundred  pounds  to  enable  a  man  to  arrive  at  the 
position  of  second  mate,  which  was  the  lowest  station 
wherein  the  pay  and  allowances  afforded  a  main- 
tenance." 

Whenever  an  Indiaman  became  worn  out,  or  con- 
demned, another  ship  was  hired  to  replace  her,  and 
was  said  to  be  "  built  upon  the  bottom  "  of  the  first. 
The  member  or  members  of  the  Marine  Interest  who 
had  built  the  first  ship  claimed  the  right  of  building 
the  second,  and  so  it  went  on.  The  result  was  that 
there  arose  what  were  known  as  "  hereditary 
bottoms/'  This  went  on  till  the  year  1796,  when 
some  of  the  more  public-spirited  of  the  directors  and 
shareholders  of  the  East  India  Company  put  their 
heads  together  and  determined  to  have  this  system 
entirely  altered.  It  is  indeed  most  extraordinary 
that  the  principle  of  monopoly  seemed  to  pervade 
every  feature  of  the  Company's  transactions,  from 
the  broad,  important  principle  of  exclusive  trade 
with  the  East  down  to  the  building  of  ships  and  the 
exclusive  privileges  of  their  commanders.  In  any 
other  line  of  commerce  the  rate  of  freight  found  its 
own  level,  but  in  the  East  India  Company  there  was 
but  one  bidder,  and  that  also  a  monopoly.  As  the 
voyage  was  long  and  difficult  and  full  of  dangers, 
it  was  natural  enough  that  good  commanders  should 
be  desired.  If  an  owner  had  a  good  captain,  the 
Company  were  only  too  pleased  to  have  him. 

The  passing  of  a  by-law  in  the  year  1773  pre- 


136  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

vented  a  ship  from  being  engaged  for  the  Com- 
pany's service  for  more  than  four  voyages  at  a 
certain  freight,  this  being  calculated  on  an  estimate 
of  the  building  and  the  cost  of  fitting  out  a  vessel 
with  provisions  and  stores  for  a  certain  number  of 
months.  In  the  years  1780  and  1781  differences  of 
opinion  arose  between  the  owners  of  the  ships  and 
the  Court  of  Directors  of  the  East  India  Company 
as  to  the  rate  of  freight  demanded.  Owing  to  the 
hostilities  with  the  Dutch,  the  rates  of  insurance  and 
fitting  out  were  stated  to  have  caused  an  additional 
charge  of  £10,  145.  a  ton.  The  contest  between 
these  two  opposing  sets  of  monopolists  was  always 
amusing  to  an  outsider.  The  Company  wanted  the 
ships  badly,  for  their  very  existence  depended  on 
their  ability  to  carry  cargoes  between  England  and 
India.  On  the  other  hand  the  owners  had  built  these 
ships  especially  for  the  Company's  service.  They 
represented  a  great  outlay  of  capital,  and  they  were 
so  big  and  efficient  that  there  was  practically  no 
other  trade  in  which  they  could  be  profitably  em- 
p'oyed.  So,  after  a  certain  amount  of  mutual  indig- 
nation had  cooled  off,  and  the  usual  haggling  had 
proceeded,  both  parties  were  wont  to  come  to  a  com- 
promise and  matters  went  on  as  before  till  the  next 
dispute  occurred. 

Thus,  for  instance,  in  the  year  1783  the  Court  of 
the  East  India  Company's  directors  fixed  the  rate 
of  freight  at  £32  per  ton  for  a  ship  of  750  tons. 
To  this  the  owners  replied  that  it  was  quite  impossible 
to  provide  the  ships  under  ^35  a  ton.  The  Court 
then  showed  their  independence.  They  were  re- 
solved not  to  suffer  the  intolerable  humiliation  of 
being  dictated  to  by  these  owners,  so  the  Company 


FREIGHTING  THE  EAST  INDIAMEN      137 

advertised  for  tenders.  Eventually  twenty-eight 
ships  were  offered  the  Company  by  various  private 
owners  in  respect  of  this  advertisement.  But  after 
the  Company's  inspecting  officer  had  carefully  ex- 
amined these  vessels  he  had  to  report  that  they  were 
either  foreign-built,  or  weak  of  structure,  or  else 
almost  worn  out :  in  any  case  quite  unfitted  for  the 
long  voyage  to  India  and  back.  This  placed  the 
Company  in  rather  a  dilemma,  and  gave  something 
of  a  shock  to  their  independent  spirit.  Meanwhile 
the  owners  who  had  hitherto  provided  the  Company 
with  ships  had  taken  alarm  at  thus  throwing  open 
the  tender  for  competition.  They  were  in  serious 
danger  of  losing  their  own  monopoly  :  so  they  began 
to  climb  down  and  offered  the  Company  the  rate 
of  ^33  a  ton.  And  inasmuch  as  the  latter  required 
as  much  as  10,000  tons  the  two  parties  agreed  on 
this  last-mentioned  price,  more  especially  as  the 
ships  were  known  to  be  sound  in  every  respect, 
having  actually  been  built  under  the  direction  of  the 
Company's  officials. 


CHAPTER  XI 

EAST  INDIAMEN  AND  THE  ROYAL  NAVY 

THE  East  India  Company's  progress  was  anything 
but  a  straight,  easy  path.  We  must  never  forget  that 
if  it  made  big  profits — and  when  examined  these 
figures,  taken  on  an  average,  are  not  so  colossal  as 
they  seem  at  first  sight — the  risks  and  responsibilities 
were  very  far  from  insignificant.  Quite  apart  from 
the  difficulties  out  in  India,  and  the  absence  of  the 
invention  of  telegraphy  thus  making  it  difficult  to 
keep  a  complete  control  over  the  factors  and  trade; 
quite  apart,  too,  from  the  pressure  which  was  harass- 
ing the  Company  from  all  sides — public  opinion 
which  grudged  this  monopoly :  shipowners  who 
wanted  to  raise  the  cost  of  hire  :  and  Parliament 
which  kept  controlling  the  Company  by  legislation- 
there  were  two  other  sources  of  worry  which  existed. 
The  first  of  these  was  the  continued  insults  by  the 
press-gangs,  and  the  consequent  inconvenience  to 
the  East  India  Company  and  the  great  danger  to 
their  ships  and  cargoes.  The  second  worry  was  the 
ever-present  possibility  during  the  long-drawn-out 
wars  of  losing  also  ships  and  goods  by  attack  from 
the  enemy's  men-of-war.  In  both  respects  the  posi- 
tion was  not  easy  of  solution.  On  the  one  hand,  it 
was  obvious  that  the  Company's  trade  was  likely  to 

138 


EAST  INDIAMEN  AND  THE  ROYAL  NAVY   139 

be  crippled ;  but,  on  the  other,  the  Government  must 
come  first  in  both  matters.  The  navy  was  in  dire 
need  of  men.  All  that  it  had  were  not  enough. 
Men  who  had  been  convicted  and  sentenced  for 
smuggling — some  of  the  finest  sailors  in  the  country 
— were  shipped  on  board  to  fight  for  the  land  that 
gave  them  birth.  All  sorts  of  rough  characters  were 
rounded  up  ashore  and  sent  afloat  by  the  press- 
gangs,  but  even  then  the  warships  needed  more. 

Now  the  crews  of  these  eighteenth-century  East 
Indiamen  were  such  skilled  seamen,  so  hardened  to 
the  work  of  a  full-rigged  ship,  so  accustomed  to 
fighting  pirates,  privateers  and  even  the  enemy's 
men-of-war,  that  it  was  no  wonder  the  Admiralty  in 
their  dilemma  overstepped  the  bounds  and  shipped 
them  whenever  they  could  be  got.  A  favourite 
custom  was  to  lie  in  wait  for  the  homeward-bound 
East  Indiamen,  and  when  these  fine  ships  had 
dropped  anchor  off  Portsmouth,  in  the  Downs,  or 
even  on  their  way  up  the  Thames,  they  would  be 
boarded  and  relieved  of  some  of  their  crew  :  to  such 
an  extent,  sometimes,  that  the  ship  could  not  be 
properly  worked.  I  have  carefully  examined  a  large 
number  of  original  manuscripts  which  passed  be- 
tween the  Admiralty  and  the  East  India  Company 
of  the  eighteenth  century,  and  there  runs  through 
the  period  a  continuous  vein  of  complaint  from  the 
latter  to  the  former,  but  there  was  very  little  remedy 
and  the  Company  had  to  put  up  with  the  nuisance. 

On  the  2ist  of  December  1710,  for  instance, 
the  Company's  secretary,  Thomas  Woolley,  sends 
a  letter  from  the  directors  complaining  to  the 
Admiralty  of  the  press-gang  actually  invading  East 
India  House,  Leadenhall  Street,  one  day  during  the 


140  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

same  month,  "  on  a  pretence  of  searching  for  sea- 
men." As  a  matter  of  fact  the  press-gang  had  come 
to  carry  off  the  most  capable  of  the  Company's  crews, 
who  happened  to  be  present  at  that  time.  Very 
strongly  the  Company  wrote  complaints  to  the 
Admiralty  that  the  press-gangs  would  board  the  East 
Indiamen  lying  off  Spithead  (bound  for  London)  and 
take  out  all  the  able-bodied  seamen  they  could  lay 
their  hands  on.  These  men  had  to  go  whether  they 
liked  it  or  not,  and  the  Company's  officers  were 
indignant  but  powerless.  But  it  added  injury  to 
insult  that  the  press-gangs  replaced  the  picked  men 
taken  out  by  "  such  as  have  been  either  unskilful 
in  their  (duty  or  careless  and  refractory  in  the  per- 
formance of  it,"  as  one  of  the  letters  remarks.  The 
Company  therefore  begged  that  no  man  might  be 
taken  out  until  the  East  Indiamen  should  arrive  at 
their  moorings,  or  at  least  till  they  came  into  the 
London  river  :  for,  they  pointed  out,  the  ships  had 
very  valuable  cargoes  on  board,  and  this  seizing  of 
men  exposed  them  to  very  great  danger,  it  being 
often  impossible  to  replace  the  men  taken  out. 

When  the  Company's  ships  at  length  reached  the 
Thames,  the  directors  would  often  send  down  hoys 
to  meet  them  and  to  bring  the  goods  up  to  London, 
where  they  could  be  placed  on  view  in  the  ware- 
houses to  show  the  buyers  before  the  sale  opened. 
But  the  naval  authorities  had  given  the  crews  of 
these  hoys  such  a  fright  that  they  refused  to  go  even 
down  towards  the  mouth  of  the  river,  fearing  that 
the  press-warrants,  which  were  out,  would  be  put  into 
execution  and  they  themselves  would  be  sent  to  serve 
in  the  warships.  These  hoys  were  fore-and-aft- 
rigged  vessels  of  about  40  or  50  tons,  the  crew  con- 


EAST  INDIAMEN  AND  THE  ROYAL  NAVY  141 

sisting  of  a  skipper  and  two  men.  Such  craft  were 
sloops — that  is  to  say,  practically  cutters,  the  only 
difference  being  purely  technical  and  legal — and 
were  built  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  passengers 
and  goods  from  one  place  to  another  along  the  coast 
or  up  estuaries,  where  ordinary  lighters  were  not 
able  to  be  taken  with  convenience  or  safety.  The 
Margate  hoy,  for  instance,  was  very  well  known  to 
Londoners  at  this  time. 

But  the  need  for  naval  seamen  was  so  urgent,  con- 
sequent on  the  wars,  that  the  Admiralty  had  to  go 
to  even  further  extremities.  They  actually  sent  to 
sea  a  press  smack  with  a  naval  officer  on  board,  and 
this  craft  would  cruise  up  and  down  the  English 
Channel.  On  one  occasion  Captain  Mawson  of  the 
Company's  ship  Cardonell,  homeward  bound,  was 
followed  all  the  way  from  Portsmouth  to  the  Downs 
by  such  a  smack.  And  when  the  bigger  ship  brought 
up  off  Deal,  Lieutenant  Hutchinson,  R.N.,  came 
aboard  and  used  his  best  endeavours  to  take  away 
every  one  of  the  CardoneWs  crew,  with  the  exception 
only  of  the  ship's  officers.  The  skipper  of  the  mer- 
chantman naturally  resented  this  very  strongly,  but 
offered  to  let  Mr  Hutchinson  have  most  of  his  men 
provided  the  naval  officer  would  supply  him  with 
others  to  take  their  place  so  that  the  ship  might  be 
safely  brought  to  her  moorings  in  the  Thames.  But 
it  was  no  good.  Hutchinson  absolutely  declined  to 
make  a  compromise,  and  according  to  Mawson's 
account  behaved  very  rudely  and,  not  content  with 
the  able  seamen,  carried  off  also  the  CardonelVs 
second  mate. 

The  only  way  in  which  this  annoyance  and  danger 
could  be  overcome  was  for  the  Admiralty  to  issue 


142  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

what  were  known  as  "  protections."  The  holder  of 
a  protection  was  thus  made  immune  from  arrest  by  a 
press-gang.  It  was  a  document  which  gave  the  name 
of  the  man,  his  age,  stature,  stated  whether  he  wore 
a  wig  or  his  own  hair,  and  other  particulars  of  iden- 
tification. No  man  with  this  authorisation  could  be 
forced  into  his  Majesty's  service,  but  it  was  valid 
only  for  three  months  or  the  period  written  thereon. 
There  is  preserved  an  original  protection  certificate 
in  the  archives  of  the  Public  Record  Office,  and  it 
is  a  quaint  document  which  must  have  been  very 
keenly  appreciated  by  its  eighteenth-century  owner. 
On  the  other  hand,  when  the  East  India  Company 
had  lost  some  of  their  seamen  by  desertion,  they 
would  petition  the  Admiralty  to  allow  naval  men  to 
be  lent. 

Every  student  of  history  is  aware  of  the  unfor- 
tunate friction  which  existed  at  this  time  between 
the  officers  of  the  Royal  Navy  and  the  officers  of  the 
Mercantile  Marine.  Happily  in  the  present  century 
this  slow-dying  spirit  is  almost  extinct.  In  my 
volume,  "  King's  Cutters  and  Smugglers,"  I  showed 
what  altercations  used  to  arise,  what  petty  jealousies 
existed  between  the  officers  of  the  Revenue  cutters 
and  those  of  his  Majesty's  navy.  The  captains  and 
officers  of  the  East  India  Company  were  often  in- 
debted to  the  protection  and  assistance  of  naval 
officers,  but  the  latter  were  often  overbearing  in  the 
exercise  of  their  duties,  and  despised  any  seaman 
who  was  not  in  the  King's  navy.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  East  Indiamen's  officers  most  heartily  disliked 
these  gentlemen,  and  the  insults  from  the  press- 
gangs  were  too  poignant  to  be  forgotten  easily. 

As  an  instance,  let  us  refer  to  the  I4th  of  August 


EAST  INDIAMEN  AND  THE  ROYAL  NAVY  143 

1734,  when  the  East  India  Company  complained  to 
the  Admiralty  of  what  seems  certainly  a  very  high- 
handed action.  It  appears  that  the  Company's  ship, 
the  Duke  of  Lorrain,  had  arrived  in  the  Downs  on 
the  previous  Sunday,  and  her  master,  Captain  Chris- 
topher Wilson,  sent  in  a  very  indignant  report  to 
the  Court  of  Directors  to  the  effect  that  "  the  men 
of  war  at  the  Nore  treated  him  more  like  an  enemy 
than  a  Merchant  Ship  coming  into  Port  in  such 
weather  as  he  had,  it  being  very  bad,  they  firing  near 
Twenty  Shott  at  his  Ship,  some  of  which  came 
among  the  Rigging,  might  have  been  of  dangerous 
consequence  to  the  Ship,  and  to  the  Company  who 
had  a  Cargo  on  board  to  the  Value  of  Two  hundred 
thousand  Pounds,  This  action  being  what  the  Com- 
pany did  not  expect  from  any  of  the  Men  of  War, 
as  the  Captain  of  the  Duke  of  Lorrain  has  assured 
the  Court  that  he  lowered  his  sails,  and  did  what 
was  safe  to  be  done,  they  have  commanded  me  to 
signify  the  same  to  you,"  continued  the  Company's 
letter  to  the  Admiralty,  "  that  so  the  Right  Honour- 
able the  Lords  of  the  Admiralty  may  be  inform'd 
thereof." 

But  if  the  East  India  Company  thought  it  neces- 
sary sometimes  to  complain  of  the  treatment  at  the 
hands  of  the  Admiralty  the  former  were  none  the  less 
glad  to  have  the  assistance  and  protection  of  the 
navy  in  the  time  of  war.  There  is  a  voluminous 
correspondence  still  preserved  in  which  the  Com- 
pany write  to  the  Admiralty  asking  for  convoys  of 
the  East  Indiamen  both  outward  and  inward  bound. 
The  French  were  very  much  on  the  qui  vwe,  but 
unless  the  regular  income  of  the  East  India  Com- 
pany were  for  the  present  to  be  stopped,  and  the 


144  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

entire  Anglo-Indian  trade  suspended,  the  Company's 
ships  must  go  on  their  way.  This  could  be  done 
only  with  the  assistance  of  his  Majesty's  ships.  In 
order  to  deal  with  this  matter  there  was  a  special 
department  of  the  Company  designated  the  Secret 
Committee,  which  communicated  with  the  Admiralty 
as  to  where  the  East  Indian  merchant  fleet  were  to 
rendezvous  and  the  convoy  join  them,  the  confiden- 
tial signals  to  be  employed,  and  so  on.  The  follow- 
ing letter  sent  by  the  Company  to  the  Admiralty  on 
1 2th  December  1740  is  typical  :— 

"  Secrett  Committee  of  the  United  East  India 
Company  do  humbly  represent  to  your  Lordships 
That  they  do  expect  a  considerable  fleet  of  ships 
richly  laden  will  return  from  the  East  Indies  the  next 
summer  and  do  therefore  earnestly  beseech  your 
Lordships  That  three  or  four  of  His  Majesty's  ships 
of  good  force  may  be  appointed  to  look  out  for  and 
convoy  them  safe  to  England." 

These  convoys  took  the  East  Indiamen  sometimes 
even  from  the  Thames  down  Channel  as  far  as  Spit- 
head.  Sometimes  they  picked  the  latter  up  only  at 
the  Downs,  escorting  them  for  several  hundred  miles 
away  from  the  English  coast  out  into  the  Atlantic. 
These  merchantmen  were  similarly  met  at  St  Helena 
and  escorted  home,  the  men-of-war  being  victualled 
for  a  period  of  two  months.  Even  if  an  East  India- 
man  were  able  to  arrive  singly  and  run  into  the 
Hamoaze  (Plymouth  Sound)  on  her  way  home,  hav- 
ing successfully  eluded  hostile  ships  roving  off  the 
mouth  of  the  English  Channel,  it  was  deemed  ad- 
visable for  her  to  wait  at  Plymouth  until  she  could 
be  escorted  by  the  next  man-of-war  bound  eastward 


EAST  INDIAMEN  AND  THE  ROYAL  NAVY  145 

to  the  Thames.  There  were  plenty  of  French  priva- 
teersmen  lurking  about  the  Channel,  and,  at  any 
rate  about  the  year  1716,  there  were  also  Swedish 
privateers  on  the  prowl  in  the  same  sea  ready  to 
fall  upon  any  East  Indiaman  going  in  or  out  of 
the  Downs. 

One  notorious  Swede  of  this  occupation  was  La 
Providence,  of  26  guns.  She  was  commanded  by 
Captain  North  Cross.  The  latter  was  an  English- 
man who  had  been  tried  and  sentenced  to  death  for 
some  crime,  but  he  had  succeeded  in  making  his 
escape  from  Newgate,  and  had  fled  the  country. 
He  had  crossed  the  North  Sea  and  had  obtained 
from  Sweden  letters  of  marque  to  rove  about  as  a 
privateer.  His  crew  were  a  rough  crowd  of  desper- 
ate fellows  of  many  nations,  and  this  ship  was  very 
fond  of  lying  in  Calais  roads  ready  to  get  under 
way  and  slip  across  the  English  Channel  so  soon 
as  an  outward-bound  East  Indiaman  was  known  to 
be  in  the  Downs.  Now,  in  the  month  of  November 
1717,  the  skipper  of  La  Providence  was  lying  in  his 
usual  roadstead,  and  tidings  came  to  him  concerning 
one  of  the  Company's  ships  then  in  the  Downs. 

The  privateer  was  kept  fully  informed  by  means 
of  those  fine  seamen,  but  doubtful  characters,  who 
lived  at  Deal.  They  were  some  of  the  toughest  and 
most  determined  men,  who  stopped  at  nothing.  For 
generations  the  men  of  Deal  had  been  the  most 
notorious  smugglers  of  the  south-east  corner  of 
England  :  and  that  was  saying  a  great  deal.  They 
were  a  brave,  fearless  class  of  men,  but  brutal  of 
nature  and  always  ready  to  get  to  windward  of  the 
law,  if  ever  a  chance  presented  itself.  They  handled 
their  open  luggers  with  a  wonderful  dexterity,  for 
which  their  successors  are  even  yet  famous.  But 
K 


146  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

they  were  lawless  to  their  finger-tips.  So  on  the 
present  occasion  when  the  East  Indiaman  was  in  the 
Downs,  one  of  these  Deal  men  sailed  his  little  craft 
across  the  strong  tides  of  Dover  Straits  and  brought 
the  information  to  the  privateer.  The  messenger 
asserted  that  the  East  Indiaman  had  nearly  ,£60,000 
on  board  in  cash,  so  Cross  got  under  way,  averring 
that  he  would  get  this  amount  or  "  Loose  his  Life  in 
the  Attempt."  Whether  he  succeeded  in  his  attempt 
I  regret  I  am  unable  to  say.  As  far  as  was  practic- 
able these  East  Indiamen  were  wont,  in  those  stren- 
uous times,  to  wait  for  a  convoy,  but  there  were  times 
when  they  could  not  afford  to  wait  till  one  of  his 
Majesty's  ships  was  at  liberty.  On  those  occasions 
the  ships  would  wait  till  they  numbered  a  small 
squadron,  and  then  voyaging  together  would  resolve 
to  run  all  risks.  There  is  on  record  the  case  of  a 
French  squadron  consisting  of  a  "  64  "  and  two 
frigates  arriving  off  the  island  of  St  Helena,  where 
the  East  Indiamen  were  wont  to  call.  The  French- 
men had  come  here  in  order  to  fall  upon  the 
homeward-bound  fleet  who  would  soon  be  seen.  But 
the  longboat*  of  one  of  these  merchantmen  was  fitted 
out,  and  under  the  command  of  a  midshipman  suc- 
ceeded in  getting  to  windward  of  the  Frenchmen 
unperceived  and  was  able  to  give  the  approaching 
English  ships  warning  of  the  danger  that  awaited 
them.  Six  of  the  Company's  fleet  fell  in  with  the 
enemy  and  kept  up  a  running  fight  for  several  days, 
until  they  anchored  in  All  Saints'  Bay.  Here  the 
French  blockaded  them,  but  it  was  to  no  purpose, 
for  these  merchantmen  succeeded  in  escaping  and 
reaching  England  in  safety. 

*  The  longboat  carried  by  these  East  Indiamen  measured  from 
twenty-seven  to  twenty-nine  feet  in  length. 


EAST  INDIAMEN  AND  THE  ROYAL  NAVY  147 

The  Royal  Navy  assisted  the  Company's  ships  in 
quite  another  manner  as  well.  Often  enough  after 
enduring  heavy  weather  in  the  Bay  of  Biscay  or 
English  Channel  these  East  Indiamen  would  put 
into  Plymouth  and  obtain  permission  from  the 
Admiralty  to  obtain  from  the  latter's  stores  a  new 
bowsprit,  a  new  mast,  or  other  spar,  the  Company  of 
course  paying  for  the  expense.  The  royal  dockyard 
also  on  the  Medway  was  similarly  found  of  great 
service,  as,  for  instance,  early  in  the  eighteenth 
century,  when  the  Company's  ship  Hannover  had 
the  misfortune  to  run  on  to  a  sandbank  whilst  going 
down  the  Thames  to  the  Downs.  The  ship  thus 
suffered  damage  and  was  not  in  a  fit  condition  to 
proceed  to  the  East.  Permission  was  asked  and 
obtained  for  her  to  be  taken  into  Sheerness,  where 
the  naval  authorities  could  admit  her  into  dry  dock, 
warehouse  her  cargo,  supply  materials  and  repair  the 
injuries  that  had  been  made. 

So  also  on  another  occasion,  in  September  1720, 
the  East  Indiaman  Goodfellow  was  lying  at  Graves- 
end  outward  bound.  It  was  discovered  at  the  last 
moment  that  unfortunately  all  the  beer  on  board  was 
spoilt,  and  since  there  was  no  time  "  to  detain  her  till 
more  can  be  brew'd,"  the  Company's  directors  had 
to  request  the  Admiralty  victualling  office  to  furnish 
the  ship  with  12  tons  of  beer  at  the  Company's 
expense.  But  the  naval  officials  were  not  always  so 
obliging  as  this.  Towards  the  end  of  the  year  1721 
the  East  Indiaman  Ccesar,  outward  bound  for  Mocha, 
had  the  misfortune  to  damage  by  friction  one  of  her 
cables  *  owing  to  the  latter  getting  foul  of  the 
wreck  of  the  Carlisle.  Those  were  the  days  when 

*  The  East  Indiamen  of  about  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth 
century  rode  to  fifteen-inch  cablei. 


148  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

cables  were  still  made  of  hemp,  and  were  always 
liable,  except  when  special  steps  were  taken,  to 
injury  v/hen  rubbing  along  foul  ground.  As  she  lay 
in  the  Downs,  the  Ccesar's  master,  Captain  Mabbott, 
asked  the  naval  storekeeper  at  Deal  if  he  would 
spare  him  a  new  cable  in  case  another  storm  should 
spring  up.  Mabbott  was  by  no  means  pleased  when 
the  storekeeper  replied  very  properly  that  inasmuch 
as  he  had  received  no  orders  to  oblige  merchant  ships 
in  that  manner,  he  was  not  able  to  comply  with  the 
request.  However  matters  were  eventually  set  right 
by  the  Company  obtaining  the  Admiralty's  permis- 
sion. 

A  voyage  in  an  East  Indiaman  of  those  days  was 
often  full  of  adventure.  After  proceeding  from  the 
Downs  the  ship  cleared  the  western  mouth  of. the 
English  Channel  and  then  steered  "  W  and  to 
WSW."  It  took  three  months  to  reach  the  Cape  of 
Good  Hope,  and  even  then  it  was  not  too  far  south 
to  fall  in  with  French  men-of-war.  After  calling  at 
Spithead  outward  bound  they  were  wont  to  sail 
through  the  Needles  passage.  The  seamen  were 
probably  better  situated  in  these  East  Indiamen  than 
in  any  other  merchant  ship,  but  they  were  not 
allowed  a  soft  time.  They  were  kept  at  it  with 
setting  and  stowing  of  canvas,  spreading  stuns'ls  in 
fair  weather  or  taking  in  upper  canvas  in  heavy  gales. 
There  were  plenty  of  guns  on  board  to  be  served,  so 
drill  formed  no  small  part  of  their  duties.  A  seaman 
went  on  board  with  his  sea-chest  and  his  bedding, 
and  in  those  rough,  hard-swearing  days,  long  before 
ever  the  sailor  had  his  trade  union,  he  was  treated 
with  no  light  hand.  There  is  an  instance  of  the  way 
slackness  was  wont  to  be  punished  on  board  the  East 


EAST  INDIAMEN  AND  THE  ROYAL  NAVY  149 


Indiaman  Greenwich.  This  particular  occurrence 
belongs  to  the  year  1719  and  happened  when  the 
watch  had  been  called.  As  some  of  the  men  did  not 
turn  out  as  smartly  as  they  ought,  the  boatswain  took 
out  his  knife  and  cut  down  their  hammocks,  to  their 
great  discomfort  and  indignation.  So  infuriated  in 
fact  were  the  crew  that  they  declined  to  go  on  the 
next  voyage  until  the  boatswain  had  been  discharged. 
Some  idea  of  the  kind  of  vessels  which  the  Com- 
pany were  hiring  for  their  service  about  the  year 
1730  may  be  gathered  from  the  following  list,  which 
has  been  taken  direct  from  the  original  official  docu- 
ments : — 


Name  of  Ship 
Devonshire 
Prince  Augustus 
Lyell 

Princess  of  Wales 
Middlesex 
Mary 
Derby 
London    . 
Dawsonne 
Craggs      . 
Bridgwater 
Prince  William. 
Lethieullier 
Hartford  . 
Macclesfield     . 
Caesar 
Harrison  . 
Walpole    . 
Frances    . 

Duke  of  Cumberland 
George 
Aislabie    . 
Stretham  . 
Ockham    . 


Commander 
Lawrence  Prince 
Francis  Gostlin 
Charles  Small . 
Thomas  Gilbert 
John  Pelly      . 
Thomas  Holden 
William  Fitzhugh    . 
Robert  Bootle 
Francis  Steward 
Caleb  Grantham 
Edward  Williamson 
William  Beresford  . 
John  Shepheard 
Francis  Nelly . 
Robert  Hudson 
William  Mabbott     . 
Samuel  Martin 
Charles  Boddam     . 
John  Lawson  . 
Benjamin  Braund    . 
George  Pitt     . 
William  Birch 
George  Westcott      . 
William  Jobson 


Tons      Men      Guns 


470 

94 

30 

495 

99 

36 

470 

94 

30 

460 

92 

30 

430 

86 

30 

49° 

98 

34 

480 

96 

32 

490 

98 

34 

480 

96 

32 

380 

76 

26 

400 

80 

28 

480 

96 

30 

470 

94 

30 

460 

92 

30 

450 

90 

30 

440 

88 

30 

460 

92 

30 

495 

99 

32 

420 

84 

30 

480 

96 

30 

480 

96 

30 

400 

80 

26 

47° 

94 

30 

480 

96 

30 

150  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

It  will  be  noticed  that  not  one  of  these  is  really 
a  big  ship  and  that  while  the  average  is  somewhere 
between  400  and  500  tons,  yet  not  one  exceeds  495 
tons.  The  directors  settled  the  size  of  ship  required 
and  the  owners  saw  that  it  was  supplied.  The  size  of 
the  crews  will  be  seen  to  be  very  large,  but  this  is 
explained  not  only  because  wages  were  low  in  those 
days  and  safety  was  a  dominating  factor — allowing 
plenty  of  men  in  each  watch  for  handling  sail — but 
because  each  ship  carried  about  thirty  guns,  and 
though  both  broadsides  would  not  be  fired  at  once, 
yet  even  half  those  guns  would  necessitate  a  good 
number  of  the  crew.  At  various  dates  during  the 
eighteenth  century,  when  the  country  needed  ships, 
the  Admiralty  commissioned  a  number  of  these  East 
Indiamen  and  also  gave  commissions  in  the  Royal 
Navy  to  their  commanders. 

Those  were  the  days,  too,  when  merchantmen  fre- 
quently obtained  letters  of  marque  for  acting  against 
the  ships  of  a  nation  with  which  our  country  was  at 
war.  During  the  year  1739  Britain  declared  war 
against  Spain,  and  so  one  comes  across  a  document 
of  that  year  in  which  the  directors  of  "  The  United 
Company  of  Merchants  of  England  Trading  to  the 
East  Indies  " — for  this  was  the  official  style  of  the 
East  India  Company  at  that  time — petition  for 
"  Letters  of  Marque  or  General  Reprizals  against 
Spain."  The  request  is  made  on  behalf  of  their 
ship,  Royal  Guardian,  490  tons,  98  men  and  30  guns ; 
and  for  other  vessels  of  their  fleet.  These  were 
[duly  granted,  and  such  stout,  well-armed  craft  were 
able  to  render  an  excellent  account  of  themselves 
against  the  foe.  They  were  necessarily  built  of 
great  strength,  they  carried  so  many  guns,  their 


EAST  INDIAMEN  AND  THE  ROYAL  NAVY  151 

crews  were  such  seasoned  men,  and  their  com- 
manders such  determined  fellows,  that  they  formed 
really  a  most  valuable  reserve  to  the  Royal  Navy. 
They  were  not  individually  a  match  for  the  biggest 
of  the  enemy's  battleships,  but  none  the  less  they 
were  equal  to  any  frigate  and  of  far  greater  utility 
to  the  King's  service  than  any  merchant  liner  would 
proportionately  be  to-day  in  the  time  of  war. 


CHAPTER   XII 

THE  WAY  THEY  HAD  IN  THE  COMPANY'S   SERVICE 

IN  order  that  the  East  Indiamen  might  be  able  to 
make  themselves  known  on  the  high  seas  to  the 
British  men-of-war,  a  special  code  of  signals  was 
accustomed  to  be  arranged  by  the  Admiralty  for  the 
former.  This  was  for  use  during  war-time,  so  that 
the  Company's  vessels  on  meeting  with  other  craft 
might  know  at  a  distance  whether  these  were  the 
friends  who  would  convoy  them  or  the  enemy  who 
would  assail  them.  Some  time  during  the  autumn, 
during  these  eighteenth-century  wars  when  England 
always  seemed  to  be  engaged  in  hostilities,  the 
custom  was  for  the  Admiralty  to  appoint  a  fresh 
code  so  that  the  naval  and  the  Company's  ships 
might  know  each  other.  This  code  was  then  sent 
sealed  to  the  Secret  Committee  of  the  East  India 
Company,  and  handed  over  to  the  latter's  command- 
ing officers.  Similarly  special  signals  were  arranged 
so  that  when  calling  at  St  Helena  the  Governor  of 
that  island  might  be  able  to  recognise  the  homeward- 
bound  East  Indiamen. 

The  following  document,  dated  5th  November 
1733,  from  the  Admiralty  will  give  some  idea  of  the 
nature  of  these  signals  : — 

"  Signals  to  be  observed  by  the  East  India  Com- 


THE  WAY  THEY  HAD  IN  THE  SERVICE    158 

pany's  ships  in  their  next  homeward-bound  passage 
upon  their  meeting  with  any  ships  near  the  Channell 
or  else  where  which  they  may  supose  to  be  the  King's 
Ships,  the  better  to  know. 

"  The  Company's  ships  whether  to  Windward  or 
to  Leeward,  shall  make  a  Signal  by  hailing  up  their 
Foresail,  and  lowering  down  the  Main  Top  Sail,  and 
spreading  an  English  Ensign,  the  Cross  down-ward, 
from  the  main  Top  Mast  head  down  the  Shrouds; 
and  They  shall  be  answered  by  the  King's  ships  by 
lowering  down  their  Fore  top  sail,  and  spreading  an 
Ensign,  in  the  same  manner,  from  their  Fore  top- 
mast head  downward,  hailing  up  their  Main  Sail, 
and  hoysting  their  Mizen  top  sail,  with  the  Clue  lines 
hall'd  up. 

"  In  the  case  of  Blowing  weather  that  the  Top 
Sails  are  in,  the  other  Signals  will  be  sufficient. 

"  Signals  by  Night. 

"  The  Company's  Ships  shall  make  a  Signal  by 
hoysting  three  Lights  one  over  another  on  the 
Ensign  Staff,  and  One  at  the  Bolt  sprit  end. 

"  The  King's  ships  will  answer  by  shewing  three 
Lights  of  equal  height,  One  of  'em  in  the  Fore,  One 
in  the  Main,  and  One  in  the  Mizen  shrouds." 

And  in  order  to  know  any  of  his  Majesty's  ships 
when  encountered  in  the  East  Indian  waters  the 
signal  was  to  be  as  follows  : — The  ship  to  windward 
was  to  hoist  an  English  Jack  at  the  fore  t'gallant 
masthead,  and  the  ship  to  leeward  was  to  answer  by 
furling  the  mizen  topsail  and  hoisting  a  French  Jack 
at  the  mizen  topmasthead. 

The  Company  had  their  own  agent  at  Deal,  and 
considering  the  number  of  days  that  were  spent  by 


154  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

the  East  Indiamen  in  the  Downs,  both  outward  and 
homeward  bound,  his  presence  was  very  necessary. 
The  ships  were  taken  down  the  Thames  by  the  Com- 
pany's own  pilots,  and  this  corporation  owned  its 
own  pilot-cutter,  which  was  a  6o-ton  craft  with  a 
master  and  six  men,  her  cruising  ground  being  be- 
tween Gravesend  and  the  Downs.  However,  even 
then,  the  Company's  ships  were  by  no  means  immune 
from  getting  ashore,  although  it  ought  to  be  men- 
tioned that  by  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century 
a  really  good  chart  of  the  Thames  estuary  did  not 
exist,  and  the  exact  nature  of  some  of  the  numerous 
shoals  was  unknown.  It  is  not  surprising,  therefore, 
to  find  casualties  occurring  as  these  big  ships  went 
up  and  down  the  London  river.  For  instance,  in 
March  1734  the  East  Indiaman  Derby >  outward 
bound  in  charge  of  a  "  Pylot,"  ran  aground  "  on  the 
Mouse  Sand  below  the  Nore."  (This  shoal  is  a  few 
miles  to  the  east  of  Southend  pier.)  She  sustained 
so  much  damage  that  she  had  to  put  into  Sheerness 
for  dry-docking  and  repairs. 

So  also,  a  few  days  before  Christmas  in  the  year 
1736,  the  East  Indiaman  Lyell  "  by  the  Unskilful- 
ness  of  the  Pilote  has  been  Onshore  on  the  Spaniard 
Sand,*  in  going  down  for  the  Downs."  So  she  also 
had  to  use  Sheerness  dock  for  repairs.  Captain 
John  Acton,  the  commander  of  the  Lyell,  in  his 
report  stated  that  the  "  Pylots  "  pretended  not  to 
have  seen  the  "  Buoy  of  the  Spill,"  and  "  borrowing 
too  near  on  the  Kentish  Shore,  he  run  us  aground  on 
the  Spaniard  at  High  Water,  the  wind  blowing  fresh 
N.W."  The  "  Spill,"  or,  as  it  is  now  called,  the 

*  The  Spaniard  is  a  treacherous  patch  off  the  north-east  corner 
of  the  Isle  of  Sheppey. 


THE  WAY  THEY  HAD  IN  THE  SERVICE    155 

"  Spile  "  buoy,  marks  the  western  end  of  the  Spile 
Sand.  The  pilots  had  clearly  got  out  of  their  course, 
for  these  East  Indiamen,  drawing  as  they  did  20  feet 
of  water,  would  never  have  taken  the  inner  passage 
along  the  Kentish  shore  known  as  the  Four  Fathoms 
Channel.  They  should  have  left  the  Spile  buoy  to 
starboard  and  not  to  port,  as  clearly  was  the  case  in 
the  present  instance  among  the  shoals.  The  north- 
west was  a  fair  wind  from  the  Thames  to  the  Downs 
all  the  way,  so  that  no  one  except  by  accident  would 
have  chosen  to  take  such  a  ship  so  far  out  of  the 
main,  deep-water  channel. 

The  ship  was  hard  and  fast  on  the  Spaniard,  and 
the  conditions  could  scarcely  have  been  worse — a 
fresh  onshore  wind,  and  the  accident  occurring  at 
top  of  high  water.  All  night  the  ship  lay  on  the 
shoal  bumping  and  injuring  herself  so  that  there 
were  soon  seven  feet  of  water  in  the  hold,  and  the 
pumps  could  not  cope  with  it.  But  on  the  morning 
of  Christmas  Eve  by  a  great  piece  of  luck  the  ship 
was  got  off,  for  the  wind  veered  to  the  north  and 
sent  in  a  bigger  tide,  as  of  course  it  would,  and  a 
local  fisherman — doubtless  from  Whitstable  or  the 
East  Swale — came  and  assisted  with  his  local  know- 
ledge so  that  "  thank  God  the  ship  floated  and  we 
got  her  off  here."  Making  a  fair  wind  of  it  the 
Lyell  then  ran  into  the  East  Swale  and  anchored 
off  Faversham.  And  a  very  handsome  sight  she 
must  have  looked  lying  to  her  hempen  cable  in  that 
winding  river. 

One  bleak  day  in  January  1737  the  East  India- 
man  Nassau  had  the  misfortune  to  run  on  the  south 
end  of  the  Galloper  in  a  "  hard  gale  at  SW,"  as  her 
captain  reported.  The  Galloper  is  a  treacherous 


156  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

bank  in  the  North  Sea  off  Harwich,  and  many  a  ship 
used  to  get  picked  up  here  in  the  olden  days.  The 
Nassau  was  now  in  a  critical  position,  and  every 
moment  those  on  board  expected  her  to  go  to  pieces  : 
"  but,"  wrote  her  skipper,  "  by  the  Providence  of 
the  Almighty  in  about  an  Hours  time  we  forc'd  her 
off  again  with  her  head  sails,  but  had  the  misfortune 
at  the  same  time  of  losing  our  Rudder,  Main  and 
Mizen  Top  Mast  which  obliged  us  soon  after  to 
come  to  an  anchor/'  But  here  again,  just  as  had 
been  the  case  with  the  Lyell,  local  assistance  came 
to  them.  For  after  a  time  the  Harwich  packet  passed 
them  bound  for  Holland,  and  her  captain,  seeing  the 
Nassau,  hailed  her  skipper  and  advised  her  to  stand 
in  for  Orfordness,  and  even  sent  on  board  his  mate, 
as  he  knew  every  inch  of  that  coast.  However,  the 
wind  now  veered  to  the  north-north-west,  which 
made  it  fair  for  running  down  the  North  Sea,  so 
the  Nassau  sailed  down  towards  the  North  Foreland 
and  anchored  in  Margate  Roads,  whence  her  captain 
was  able  to  send  information  to  the  East  India 
Company,  where  also  he  would  wait  for  orders. 

Another  peril  which  these  East  Indiamen  had  to 
remember  was  the  presence  of  pirates.  These  con- 
sisted not  merely  of  local  Eastern  craft,  but  of  such 
people  as  Captains  Avery  and  Kidd,  two  of  the  most 
notorious  men  in  the  whole  history  of  piracy.  In  the 
early  part  of  the  eighteenth  century  the  latter  were 
found  in  many  parts  of  the  Indian  Ocean.  Mada- 
gascar was  a  favourite  base  for  these  rovers,  but 
they  would  be  found  off  Mauritius,  or  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Red  Sea  awaiting  the  East  Indiamen  return- 
ing from  Mocha  and  Jeddah.  Not  content  with  this, 
these  European  pirates  would  hang  about  off  the 


THE  WAY  THEY  HAD  IN  THE  SERVICE    157 

Malabar  coast,  and  the  East  India  Company's  ships 
suffered  considerably,  and  feared  a  repetition  of 
these  attacks.  And  yet,  when  we  consider  the  matter 
dispassionately,  were  Avery,  Kidd  and  his  fellow- 
pirates  very  much  worse  than  some  of  those  captains 
who  first  took  the  English  ships  out  to  the  Orient, 
who  thought  it  no  wrong  but  a  mere  matter  of  busi- 
ness to  stop  a  Portuguese  ship  and  relieve  her  of  her 
cargo  just  as  these  eighteenth-century  pirates  would 
assail  the  ships  of  the  present  monopolists  of  the 
Eastern  trade?  The  only  difference  that  seems 
obvious  is  that  Lancaster  and  those  other  early 
captains  were  acting  on  behalf  of  a  powerful  cor- 
poration having  a  charter  from  the  sovereign : 
whereas  Avery,  Kidd  and  the  like  were  acting  on 
their  own  and  were  outlaws.  And  even  this  cannot 
be  pushed  too  far,  seeing  that  at  one  time  of  his 
career  Kidd  received  a  commission  from  William 
III.  to  go  forth  and,  as  "  a  private  man-of-war/' 
capture  other  notorious  "  pirates,  free-booters  and 
sea-rovers,"  on  the  old  principle  of  setting  a  thief  to 
catch  a  thief. 

Sometimes  these  East  Indiamen  were  taken  for 
the  enemy  even  by  English  men-of-war.  You  will 
remember  the  famous  voyage  of  Lord  Anson  round 
the  world  in  the  years  1740-1744.  One  day  whilst 
they  were  in  the  South  Atlantic  they  saw  a  sail  to 
the  north-west,  and  the  squadron  began  to  exchange 
signals  with  each  other  and  to  give  chase  "  and  half 
an  hour  after  we  let  out  our  reefs  and  chased  with 
the  squadron  .  .  .  but  at  seven  in  the  evening,  finding 
we  did  not  near  the  chace  ...  we  shortened  sail, 
and  made  a  signal  for  the  cruisers  to  join  the  squad- 
ron. The  next  day  but  one  we  again  discovered  a 


158  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

sail,  which  on  nearer  approach  we  judged  to  be  the 
same  vessel.  We  chased  her  the  whole  day,  and 
though  we  rather  gained  upon  her,  yet  night  came 
on  before  we  could  overtake  her,  which  obliged  us 
to  give  over  the  chace,  to  collect  our  scattered  squad- 
ron. We  were  much  chagrined  at  the  escape  of  this 
vessel,  as  we  then  apprehended  her  to  be  an  advice- 
boat  sent  from  Old  Spain  to  Buenos  Ayres  with 
notice  of  our  expedition.  But  we  have  since  learnt 
that  we  were  deceived  in  this  conjecture,  and  that  it 
was  our  East  India  Company's  packet  bound  to 
St  Helena/'  This  is  certainly  a  fair  proof  of  the 
sailing  qualities  of  the  Company's  ships,  seeing  that 
not  even  the  English  cruisers  could  overhaul  the 
merchant  ship. 

At  this  time  the  chief  cargoes  which  these  East 
Indiamen  took  out  to  the  East  still  included  those 
woollen  goods  which  had  been  sent  ever  since  the 
foundation  of  the  first  Company,  and  they  continued 
to  bring  back  saltpetre,  but  now  tea  was  becoming  a 
much  more  important  cargo.  But  in  addition  to  that 
tea  which  came  home  in  the  Company's  ships  and 
paid  custom  duty,  there  was  a  vast  amount  brought 
in  by  smugglers.  And  one  argument  used  to  be  that 
this  had  to  be,  because  the  East  Indiamen  brought 
back  chiefly  the  better,  higher  priced  kind,  compel- 
ling the  dealers  to  send  to  Holland  for  the  cheaper 
variety. 

The  East  Indiamen's  captains  were  not  above 
engaging  in  the  smuggling  industry,  at  any  rate  as 
aiders  and  abettors.  One  of  the  methods  was  to 
wait  until  the  ship  arrived  in  the  Downs.  Men  would 
come  out  from  the  Deal  beach  in  their  luggers  and 
then  take  ashore  quantities  of  tea  secreted  about  their 


THE  WAY  THEY  HAD  IN  THE  SERVICE    159 

person.  This  was  the  reason  why  the  Revenue 
cruisers  were  told  to  keep  an  especial  watch  on  the 
Company's  ships  when  homeward  bound,  because  of 
"  the  illicit  practices  that  are  continually  attempted 
to  be  committed  by  them."  So  notorious  indeed  and 
so  ingenious  were  the  methods  to  land  goods  without 
previously  paying  duty,  that  the  Revenue  cutters 
were  ordered  to  follow  these  bigger  ships  all  the  way 
up  Channel,  keeping  as  close  to  them  as  possible  as 
long  as  they  were  under  sail,  and  when  the  East 
Indiaman  came  to  anchor,  the  cutter  was  to  bring 
up  as  near  as  possible  to  her.  This  was  to  prevent 
goods  (such  as  silk  and  tea)  being  dropped  through 
the  ship's  ports  into  a  friendly  boat  that  had  come 
out  from  the  beach,  a  practice  that  was  by  no  means 
unknown  on  board  these  merchant  craft  home  from 
the  Orient. 

Just  as  there  was  serious  friction  sometimes  be- 
tween the  Revenue  cutters  and  the  ships  of  his 
Majesty's  navy  concerning  the  wearing  of  pendants, 
so  these  incidents  were  not  unknown  to  happen  to  the 
ships  of  the  Honourable  East  India  Company.  As 
an  instance,  Captain  Balchen,  R.N.,  during  the  year 
1726  wrote  to  the  latter  complaining  that  one  of  their 
ships  had  hoisted  a  broad  red  pendant  at  the  main 
topmast  head.  There  was  certainly  no  possible 
defence,  and  the  Company  were  compelled  to  reply 
that  they  were  "  entire  strangers  "  to  the  complaint, 
and  would  give  directions  to  prevent  this  occurring 
again.  But  otherwise  these  East  Indiamen  were 
treated  with  far  more  respect  than  any  other  mer- 
chant ships.  No  finer  ships  other  than  men-of-war 
sailed  the  seas.  On  arriving  at  their  port  in  India 
they  were  always  saluted,  and  their  captains  ranked 


160  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

as  Members  of  Council,  being  saluted  with  thirteen 
guns  when  they  landed,  and  the  guard  turning  out 
when  they  entered  or  left  the  fort.  No  one,  in  fact, 
other  than  officers  of  the  Royal  Navy  received  such 
respect.  Under  the  captain  were  from  four  to  eight 
officers  in  the  bigger  ships,  who  all  wore  uniforms, 
the  duties  on  board  being  carried  on  with  just  the 
same  discipline  as  in  a  man-of-war. 

Some  of  the  Company's  servants  were  making 
handsome  profits  even  when  the  Company  itself  was 
doing  badly.  Eastwick  mentions  the  name  of  a 
purser  who  had  such  nice  little  perquisites  out  of 
his  office  that  he  left  the  service  and  became  owner 
of  a  ship  which  traded  between  London  and  Cal- 
cutta. She  was  a  ship  of  no  mean  size,  for  she 
carried  thirty  cabin  passengers  and  300  lascars, 
together  with  a  large  mixed  cargo  of  the  value  of 
;£  1 3,000.  And  you  may  judge  of  the  profits  from 
the  passenger  source  alone  when  it  is  stated  that  one 
of  these  cabins  cost  four  hundred  guineas  for  the 
voyage.  The  affairs  of  the  Company  had  for  some 
years  been  in  a  rather  bad  way.  Instead  of  being 
able  to  pay  to  the  Government  the  stipulated  sum  of 
,£400,000  a  year,  the  directors  were  actually  com- 
pelled to  ask  the  Government  for  a  loan  of 
,£  1,000,000.  This  was  in  the  year  1772.  The 
affairs  of  the  Company  were  brought  before  Parlia- 
ment, and  a  Committee  exposed  a  series  of  intrigues 
and  crime.  It  was  to  remedy  this  rotten  condition 
of  things  that  in  June  of  1773  two  Bills  were  intro- 
duced, of  which  one  authorised  the  loan  just  men- 
tioned, and  the  other,  celebrated  as  the  India  Act, 
effected  most  important  changes  in  the  Company's 
constitution  and  its  relations  to  India.  A  Governor- 


THE  WAY  THEY  HAD  IN  THE  SERVICE    161 

General  was  appointed  to  reside  in  Bengal,  to  which 
the  other  presidencies  were  to  be  made  subordinate. 
A  supreme  court  of  judicature  was  inaugurated  at 
Calcutta.  The  salary  of  the  Governor  was  to  be 
,£25,000  a  year,  and  that  of  the  Council  members  at 
;£  1 0,000  each,  the  chief  judge  receiving  ;£8ooo  a 
year.  From  this  time  forth  the  Company's  affairs 
were  brought  under  the  control  of  the  Crown,  all 
the  departments  were  reorganised,  and  all  the  terri- 
torial correspondence  had  to  be  laid  before  the 
British  Ministry. 

It  was  certainly  high  time  that  the  Company's 
affairs  were  taken  in  hand.  Our  present  inquiry  is 
concerned  only  with  its  merchant  shipping,  so  we 
may  confine  ourselves  strictly  thereto.  Had  it  not 
been  for  the  wonderfully  popular  taste  which  the 
United  Kingdom  had  now  shown  for  tea,  the  Com- 
pany's ships  would  have  been  compelled  to  cease 
trading  with  the  East.  When,  in  1773,  the  Com- 
pany's charter  was  once  more  renewed,  a  grant  was 
made  of  a  monopoly  also  to  China.  From  about  the 
middle  of  the  eighteenth  century,  however,  the  Com- 
pany had  become  more  of  a  military  than  a  trading 
concern,  yet  the  latter  was  anything  but  insignificant. 
Enormous  tracts  of  land  had  been  obtained  in  India. 
The  governments  of  the  native  princes  were  corrupt, 
and  the  East  India  Company  was  strong.  The 
British  Government  was  some  thousands  of  miles 
across  the  sea,  so  gradually  but  surely,  without  much 
interference,  the  Company  had  obtained  a  strong  grip 
on  the  natives.  From  that  followed  extortion,  and 
when  the  Company's  servants  returned  home  they 
came  with  fortunes,  even  though  the  Company  itself 
was  doing  badly. 


162  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

In  the  year  1772  the  East  India  Company  were 
employing  fifty-five  ships  abroad,  aggregating 
39,836  tons.  At  home  they  owned,  and  there  were 
being  built  for  its  service  thirty  ships  of  an  aggregate 
of  22,000  tons.  In  1784  the  number  of  its  ships  at 
home  and  abroad  was  sixty-six.  The  chief  object  of 
the  inquiry  into  the  Company's  trade  with  the  East 
by  the  Committee  just  alluded  to  was  apparently  to 
see  if  the  ships  could  be  built  and  run  more  cheaply 
than  under  the  present  method  of  chartering.  It  was 
seen  from  the  evidence  of  Sir  Richard  Hotham  that 
the  existing  method  of  freighting  the  Company's 
ships  could  be  improved  upon  to  effect  greater 
economy,  for  whereas  the  Company  were  paying  in 
the  year  1772  as  much  as  ^32  a  ton  for  the  carriage 
of  fine  goods,  this  expert  witness  expressed  himself 
as  willing  to  bring  goods  from  any  part  of  the  East 
at  £21  a  ton. 

The  result  of  this  inquiry  was  that  important 
changes  had  to  be  made.  The  Company  began  to 
put  its  shipping  business  into  proper  condition.  The 
Company  decided  to  build  for  its  own  use  a  number 
of  bigger  ships  than  they  had  been  wont  to  use,  and 
thus  those  wonderful  East  Indiamen,  for  which  the 
eighteenth  century  will  ever  be  famous,  came  into 
being.  They  were  of  1200  to  1400  nominal  tons, 
though  their  real  measurement  was  greater  than  this. 
Such  ships  began  to  be  built  about  the  year  1781, 
though  in  earlier  days,  as  the  reader  is  aware,  the 
ships  had  recently  averaged  between  400  and  500 
tons,  not  exceeding  the  latter  figure.  The  new  type, 
of  course,  did  not  entirely  drive  the  smaller  ones 
straight  off  the  sea,  but  the  two  classes  existed  side 
by  side.  We  alluded  just  now  to  the  terrible  national 


THE  WAY  THEY  HAD  IN  THE  SERVICE    163 

evil  of  smuggling.  This  vice  had  reached  amazing 
limits  during  the  eighteenth  century,  and  the  country 
was  in  such  a  state  of  alarm,  and  honest  traders  com- 
plained so  bitterly  of  the  disastrous  effects  on  their 
prosperity,  that  in  the  year  1745  a  beginning  was 
made  of  an  inquiry  by  a  Parliamentary  Committee 
into  the  causes  of  smuggling  and  the  most  effectual 
methods  to  stop  it.  We  have  seen  that  tea,  because 
of  its  recent  popularity,  was  especially  an  article 
beloved  by  these  smugglers.  We  need  not  enter 
further  into  this  inquiry,  but  evidence  showed  that 
one  of  the  best  means  of  ending  this  illicit  trade 
would  be  to  reduce  the  duties,  thus  not  making  it 
worth  while  for  the  illicit  trader  to  carry  on  his  work. 
Now  when  Pitt  did  reduce  the  duties  on  various 
Indian  productions,  but  especially  on  tea,  it  was 
found  that  a  complete  change  was  made  in  the 
demand  for  this  commodity.  Many  thousand  more 
pounds'  weight  were  now  required,  the  sales  were 
trebled,  and  thus  there  was  a  much  greater  shipping 
business.  The  export  trade  to  China  now  began  to 
be  most  important  also,  and  the  Company  was 
prospering. 

But  before  we  proceed  any  further  we  must  just 
see  the  conditions  which  were  in  existence  up  to  1773 
in  regard  to  the  method  of  chartering  ships  by  the 
Company  from  the  owners.  It  was  agreed  that  these 
hired  ships  were  to  be  surveyed  by  the  Company 
whenever  the  latter  desired,  and  it  is  typical  of  the 
times  that  the  proviso  had  to  be  inserted  that  the 
Company's  surveyors  "  are  to  be  civilly  treated." 
In  order  that  the  ship  might  be  efficiently  armed,  the 
commander  and  owners  were  liable  to  a  fine  of  £40 
for  each  gun  that  was  wanting.  If  any  of  the  guns 


164  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

were  sold,  the  owners  and  commander  were  to  be 
fined  ;£ioo  for  each  gun,  and  the  commander  to  be 
dismissed  the  Company's  service.  The  commander 
was  also  to  obey  the  Company's  orders  during  the 
voyage,  as  well  as  their  agents  and  factors.  In  order 
to  encourage  the  seamen,  the  Company  agreed  to 
reward  them  when  the  ship  returned  to  the  Thames 
from  the  East  Indies  at  the  end  of  the  voyage — that 
is  to  say,  if  they  had  been  able  to  prevent  any  wilful 
damage  to  the  Company's  property,  or  save  them 
from  being  lost,  a  reward  suitable  for  the  benefit  was 
to  be  made.  If  a  seaman  were  to  lose  his  life  in 
defending  the  ship,  his  next  of  kin  was  to  receive 
^30.  If  he  lost  a  limb,  he  himself  was  to  have  the 
same  sum.  If  he  received  minor  wounds  he  was  to 
be  given  some  smaller  monetary  reward  and  to  be 
"  cured  of  his  wounds  "  at  the  Company's  expense. 

The  Company  expressly  forbade  these  hired  ships 
from  calling  at  places  other  than  those  which  it 
ordered,  or  to  take  any  foreign  coin  or  bullion,  goods 
or  provisions  at  any  place  short  of  her  consigned 
port.  The  cargo  was  to  be  disposed  in  the  best 
manner  to  prevent  damage,  and  so  that  the  working 
of  the  ship  and  her  efficient  defence  would  not  be 
interfered  with.  Pepper  was  not  to  be  shot  loose 
between  decks  or  the  freight  would  not  be  paid  for. 
If  the  ship  should  touch  at  St  Helena  or  the  island 
of  Ascension  she  was  not  to  sail  without  the  per- 
mission of  the  Governor  and  Council.  Nor  was  she 
to  touch  at  Barbadoes,  or  any  American  port,  or  any 
of  the  western  islands,  or  even  Plymouth,  without 
orders  or  some  unavoidable  danger  of  the  sea,  under 
a  penalty  of  ^500.  The  commander,  chief  and 
second  mates  were  to  keep  journals  of  the  ship's 


THE  WAY  THEY  HAD  IN  THE  SERVICE    165 

daily  proceedings,  from  the  time  when  she  first  took 
in  cargo  in  the  River  Thames  to  the  time  of  her 
return  and  discharge  of  her  cargo  in  England. 
Wind,  weather,  and  all  the  remarkable  transactions, 
accidents  and  occurrences  during  the  voyage  were 
to  be  noted  in  these  journals,  as  also  of  everything 
received  into  the  ship.  These  journals  were  to  be 
delivered  up  to  the  Company  afterwards,  on  oath,  if 
required. 

No  unlicensed  gooHs  were  to  be  carried  in  the 
ship  nor  any  passengers  to  be  taken  without  per- 
mission. The  ship  was  to  have  her  full  complement 
of  men  during  the  voyage,  and  none  of  these  crews 
was  to  be  furnished  by  the  master  or  officers  with 
money,  liquor,  or  provisions  beyond  the  value  of 
one-third  of  what  the  wages  of  such  seamen  should 
amount  to  at  that  particular  time.  The  paymaster 
(who  was  appointed  by  the  Company  and  owners 
jointly)  was  to  pay  the  seamen's  wives  one  month's 
wages  in  six.  The  commander  was  to  have  the  use 
of  the  ship's  great  cabin,  unless  it  were  required  for 
the  Company's  servants  voyaging  out  or  home.  It 
was  the  duty  of  the  part-owners  or  the  master  to 
send  in  the  ship  always  the  sum  of  £500  in  foreign 
coins  or  bullion  for  use  in  the  case  of  extraordinary 
expenses  during  the  voyage.  The  commander  was 
also  to  be  supplied  with  ^200  a  month  for  paying 
wages  and  provisions  while  in  India  or  China.  Anc} 
whenever  lascars  were  hired,  the  Company  were  to 
pay  for  their  hire.  We  shall  refer  to  the  subject 
of  these  lascars  again  presently,  but  we  may  now 
go  on  to  witness  the  development  of  the  Company's 
shipping  after  the  inauguration  of  those  reforms  at 
which  we  hinted  just  now. 


CHAPTER    XIII 

THE  EAST  INDIAMEN'S  ENEMIES 

THE  East  India  Company  had  recovered  from  their 
period  of  desolation.  They  had  set  their  house  in 
order,  had  been  granted  a  further  extension  of  their 
monopoly,  were  opening  up  a  good  trade  with  China, 
and  had  received  fresh  capital  for  their  operations 
in  wider  spheres.  The  trade  of  the  East  was  prac- 
tically now  in  the  hands  of  England,  the  Dutch  East 
India  Company  having  suffered  very  heavily,  and 
the  French  East  India  Company  after  languishing 
had  come  to  an  end  in  1790.  Although  there  had 
been  formed  the  first  Danish  East  India  Company 
as  far  back  as  1612,  and  a  Spanish  Royal  Company 
for  trading  with  the  Philippines  incorporated  in  1733 
and  an  Ostend  East  India  Company  incorporated 
by  the  Emperor  of  Austria  in  1723;  yet  the  last- 
mentioned  had  become  bankrupt  in  1784,  and  now 
the  English  East  India  Company,  after  many  vicissi- 
tudes, was  left  practically  the  sole  surviving  trading 
power  in  the  Orient. 

Under  Pitt's  Act  the  directors  of  the  English 
Company  were  allowed  to  superintend  their  shipping 
and  matters  of  commerce  as  before,  yet  the  Board  of 
Control  exercised  its  influence  both  in  England  and 
India.  Each  year  the  Company  settled  the  number 

1 66 


THE  EAST  INDIAMEN'S  ENEMIES         167 

of  ships  to  be  built  and  their  sizes.  For  instance,  in 
1784,  as  they  saw  that  at  least  four  more  ships  would 
be  required,  they  ordered  six  to  be  built.  The  keels 
were  to  be  laid  down  within  six  months,  and  the  ships 
were  to  be  launched  within  twelve  months  of  the 
laying  of  the  keel.  The  following  year  they  decided 
to  have  three  sets  of  shipping  with  about  thirty  ships 
in  each  class,  so  leave  was  given  for  eight  ships  to 
be  built.  Tenders  were  therefore  advertised  for  in 
January  1786,  much  to  the  indignation  of  the  owners, 
who  complained  that  this  advertisement  was  directed 
against  their  interests.  They  denied  that  hitherto 
their  rates  for  freight  had  been  exorbitant,  and  pro- 
tested that  they  had  embarked  on  immense  ship- 
building programmes  expressly  for  the  Company's 
benefit.  The  Company  therefore  replied,  inviting 
them  to  send  in  tenders,  which  was  done,  the  same 
rate  being  offered  as  in  the  preceding  season — viz. 
^26  a  ton  to  China  direct,  £27  for  coast  and  China, 
Bombay  £28,  coast  and  bay  ,£29.  On  9th  June  of 
that  year  a  tender  was  offered  the  Company  to  build 
a  looo-ton  ship  at  ^22  a  ton  for  the  first  two 
voyages,  and  £20  for  the  third  and  fourth  voyages. 

Up  till  the  year  1789  the  size  of  the  Company's 
recent  big  ships  had  been  from  750  to  800  tons.  But 
in  this  year  it  was  decided  to  build  five  ships  of  from 
noo  to  1200  tons.  The  following  May  the  Court 
resolved  that  from  past  experience  ships  could  quite 
well  make  three  voyages  without  stripping  off  their 
sheathing.  And,  further,  those  ships  which  had  been 
accustomed  to  make  the  fourth  trip  their  repairing 
voyage  might  with  perfect  safety  perform  even  six 
voyages.  A  by-law  of  1773  had  restricted  the  em- 
ployment of  ships  for  more  than  four  voyages,  but 


168  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

this  was  now  modified,  and  instead  of  four  voyages 
agreements  were  entered  into  with  the  owners  for  the 
ships  to  run  six. 

It  was  decided  also  by  the  Company  in  the  year 
1789  to  allow  the  commanders  and  officers  of  their 
ships  to  fill,  freight  free,  all  such  outward  tonnage 
as  might  be  unoccupied  by  the  Company,  and  to 
allow  the  Company's  servants  and  merchants  resid- 
ing under  the  Company's  protection  in  India  to  fill 
up  such  homeward  tonnage  as  might  be  unoccupied 
by  the  Company,  at  a  reasonable  freight.  When  we 
come  to  the  year  1793  we  have  to  deal  with  an 
important  Act  of  the  reign  of  George  III.,  which 
had  far-reaching  effects.  The  Company's  charter 
was  extended  until  1814,  but  provision  was  made  for 
opening  up  the  Indian  trade  to  private  individuals, 
and  thus  the  long-lived  monopoly  of  the  Company 
was  doomed.  At  length  the  agitations  of  the  Liver- 
pool and  Bristol  shipowners  to  be  allowed  to  partici- 
pate in  the  East  India  trade  were  to  have  some  sort 
of  effect,  though  it  was  far  from  what  was  desired. 
However,  one  of  the  conditions  of  the  renewal  of  the 
Company's  exclusive  privilege  under  this  Act  was 
that  any  of  the  Company's  civil  servants  in  India, 
and  the  free  merchants  living  in  India  under  the 
Company's  protection,  might  be  permitted  to  send  to 
Europe  on  their  own  account  and  risk  in  the  Com- 
pany's ships  all  kinds  of  Indian  goods  with  the 
exception  of  calicoes,  dimities,  muslins  and  other 
piece-goods.  And  "  for  insuring  to  private  mer- 
chants and  manufacturers  the  certain  and  ample 
means  of  exporting  their  merchandize  to  the  East 
Indies,  and  importing  the  returns  for  the  same,  and 
the  other  goods,  wares  and  merchandize,  allowed  by 


THE  EAST  INDIAMEN'S  ENEMIES         169 

this  Act,  at  reasonable  rates  of  freight/'  the  Com- 
pany was  ordered  to  set  apart  at  least  3000  tons  of 
shipping  every  year.  The  charge  was  to  be  ^5  a 
ton  on  the  outward  voyage  in  times  of  peace,  and 
^15  homeward.  But  in  the  time  of  war  the  rates 
should  be  increased  if  the  Board  of  Control  ap- 
proved. It  was  further  stipulated  that  his  Majesty's 
subjects  might  be  allowed  to  export  from  England 
to  India  any  produce  or  manufactured  goods  except 
military  stores,  ammunition,  masts,  spars,  cordage, 
pitch,  tar  and  copper.  But  in  all  cases  of  exports  and 
imports  in  this  Anglo- Indian  trade  the  goods  must 
travel  in  the  Company's  ships.  These  vessels,  pro- 
vided under  the  Act,  thus  became  known  as  "  extra 
East  Indiamen,"  and  sometimes  in  reading  books  of 
voyages  and  travel  of  this  period  you  will  find  the 
narrator  informing  the  reader  that  he  travelled  to  the 
East  on  board  the  "  extra  "  East  Indiaman  so-and- 
so.  It  may  be  stated  at  once  that  though  the  Act  was 
obeyed,  it  produced  little  result,  for  considering  that 
the  Company  still  had  such  a  powerful  monopoly  of 
trade  in  the  East,  it  was  quite  impossible  for  home 
merchants  to  compete  with  such  a  corporation.  Most 
manufacturers  and  merchants  declined  to  avail 
themselves  of  this  privilege,  full  well  realising 
beforehand  how  useless  it  would  be.  However, 
the  Company  fulfilled  their  obligation  to  pro- 
vide this  additional  tonnage,  though  it  entailed 
a  heavy  expenditure  without  much  benefit  to 
the  public.  The  people  who  benefited  most  were 
the  servants  of  the  Company,  who,  being  homeward 
bound,  were  able  to  bring  back  to  England  Indian 
produce  that  would  find  a  ready  market  here. 
In  the  year  1793  the  Company  had  only  thirty- 


170  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

six  vessels  of  1200  tons  each  and  forty  of  800  tons 
each.  This  of  course  represented  the  whole  of  the 
British  shipping  trading  to  the  East.  Some  idea  of 
the  shipbuilding  programmes  of  the  next  few  years 
may  be  gathered  from  the  following  facts,  bearing 
in  mind  that  the  Company  were  trading  to  China  as 
well  as  to  India,  and  that  both  big  and  moderate- 
sized  ships  were  deemed  necessary.  Thus  in  Octo- 
ber of  1793  the  Court  decided  that  sixteen  ships  of 
from  700  to  800  tons  were  necessary,  and  one  of 
1 200  tons  for  the  annual  imports  from  India  in  their 
regular  commerce;  and  that  fifteen  large  ships  of 
1 200  tons  would  be  required  for  imports  from  China. 
When  a  ship  became  worn  out  by  age,  accident  or 
inability,  an  advertisement  was  published,  describ- 
ing the  size  of  the  ship  required,  inviting  tenders 
and  specifying  the  rate  of  freight  to  be  paid  for  six 
voyages,  the  ship  to  be  commanded  by  the  captain 
of  the  ship  whose  bottom  was  worn  out.  In  Decem- 
ber of  the  following  year  it  was  resolved  that  ships 
of  1400  tons  were  the  most  suitable  for  the  Com- 
pany's trade  to  China,  but  that  these  ships  should  be 
tendered  at  1200  tons  only.  So  also  the  regular 
ships  (as  distinct  from  the  extra  East  Indiamen) 
which  brought  home  their  rich  cargoes  from  Bengal 
and  Madras  were  not  to  exceed  820  tons  and  to  be 
chartered  at  799  tons.  It  was  further  settled  that 
ships  of  from  480  to  520  tons  were  the  most  suitable 
craft  for  bringing  home  what  were  known  as  "  gruff  J: 
goods — that  is,  cargoes  of  Indian  goods  consisting 
of  such  raw  materials  as  cotton,  rice,  sugar,  pepper, 
hemp  and  saltpetre.  The  silks,  muslins,  tea  and  fine 
goods  were  carried  in  the  Company's  larger  ships, 
which  carried  also  the  passengers.  From  the  latter 


THE  EAST  INDIAMEN'S  ENEMIES         171 

quite  a  large  revenue  was  obtained,  as  soon  as  the 
Company's  rule  in  India  became  fully  established. 

The  public  were  still  very  jealous  of  the  Com- 
pany's private  monopoly,  and  the  country  was 
deluged  by  pamphleteers  and  tractarians  giving  vent 
to  this  indignation.  However,  some  benefit  had  been 
obtained  by  a  reduction  in  the  freights,  and  it  was 
brought  about  in  the  following  manner.  The  sug- 
gestion was  made  that  great  advantages  would  result 
if  India-J^uilt  ships  were  employed  by  the  Company 
for  the  spare  freight  which  was  lying  ready  for  ship- 
ment to  Europe.  English  oak  was  getting  scarcer, 
and  therefore  dearer,  and  could  ill  be  spared  so  long 
as  the  Royal  Navy  continued  to  be  wooden  walls  : 
whereas  out  in  India  the  Company  owned  inex- 
haustible forests.  So  from  the  year  1795  India-built 
ships  were  for  the  first  time  allowed  to  take  exports 
and  imports.  They  were  commonly  known  as 
"  country-built  "  ships,  and  in  the  year  mentioned 
twenty-seven  of  these  craft  were  despatched  from 
India  with  cargoes  of  rice.  The  cost  of  engaging 
these  ships  was  at  £  16  a  ton  for  rice  and  other  dead- 
weight goods  and  £20  a  ton  for  light  goods,  the 
ships  to  arrive  and  discharge  in  the  Thames.  As  a 
result  a  saving  in  one  season  alone  was  made  of 
,£183,316  in  respect  of  freights.  But  there  occurred 
some  keen  disappointment  to  the  owners  of  these 
India-built  ships.  The  arrangement  had  been  that, 
having  delivered  the  goods  mentioned  in  the 
Thames,  they  should  be  allowed  to  take  back  to 
India  whatever  merchandise  they  cared  to  put 
aboard.  Many  of  these  ships  had  been  built  as  a 
speculation,  their  owners  believing  that  they  would 
be  taken  into  the  Company's  regular  service  and  so 


172  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

be  employed  permanently.  Notwithstanding  that 
they  had  been  warned  against  any  such  supposition, 
it  came  as  a  bitter  grief  to  them  when  they  realised 
that  after  the  Company's  immediate  requirements 
were  completed  the  services  of  these  ships  were  no 
longer  required;  but  for  all  that  the  clay  was  now 
not  far  distant  when  trade  to  India  was  to  be  thrown 
open  altogether.  It  is  the  last  straw  which  breaks 
the  earners  back,  and  the  load  which  had  been 
accumulating  ever  since  the  year  1600  was  soon  to 
reach  the  point  when  something  would  have  to  give 
way. 

It  should  be  explained  that  this  was  one  of  the 
most  critical  periods  in  the  whole  of  England's  naval 
chronicle  and  therefore  of  her  very  existence.  The 
Battle  of  the  Glorious  First  of  June  had  been  fought 
in  1794,  and  in  this  same  year  Martinique  had  been 
captured  from  the  French.  The  year  1795  was  to 
be  even  still  more  replete  with  naval  doings.  Ships 
and  men  were  required  as  they  had  never  been 
wanted  before,  and  it  was  just  in  this  respect  that 
the  existence  of  the  East  India  Company  was  of  the 
greatest  direct  benefit  to  the  country  and  the  navy. 
It  must  always  be  to  its  honour  that  the  Company 
which  had  for  so  long  enjoyed  the  privilege  of  the 
Indian  monopoly  was  on  this  especial  occasion  to 
have  the  privilege  of  assisting  the  nation  in  a  most 
valuable  manner.  At  the  opening  of  the  year  France 
possessed  advantages  which  she  had  never  pre- 
viously enjoyed.  She  had  made  peace  with  Prussia, 
she  had  reduced  Holland  to  submission  and  made  a 
treaty  with  the  latter,  the  result  of  which  was  that 
the  Dutch  fleet  of  about  120  ships  was  placed  at 
France's  disposal.  These  were  well-built  craft, 


THE  EAST  INDIAMEN'S  ENEMIES         173 

manned  by  excellent  crews  who  were  seamen  to  their 
finger-tips.  As  against  this,  England  was  in  a  con- 
dition of  isolation  and  there  was  a  tremendous 
amount  of  work  to  be  done  and  too  few  ships  at 
hand.  For  Brest  had  to  be  watched,  and  the  Medi- 
terranean fleet  had  to  look  after  the  French  based 
on  Toulon.  Admiral  Duncan  had  to  be  sent  across 
the  North  Sea  to  prevent  any  Dutch  ships  from 
emerging  out  of  the  Texel,  but  in  the  southern  part 
of  the  world  something  much  more  historic  was 
destined  to  occur,  for  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  was 
captured  from  the  Dutch,  and  just  at  the  time  when 
our  success  hung  in  the  balance  a  strong  squadron 
of  East  Indiamen  arrived  with  a  reinforcement  of 
British  troops.  The  result  was  that  against  this 
force  the  Dutch  could  no  longer  stand.  The  Dutch 
settlement  (and  incidentally  a  brig  belonging  to  the 
Dutch  East  India  Company)  now  became  British. 

Never  had  the  East  India  Company  been  more 
useful  to  the  navy  than  in  this  year.  Ships  and  sea- 
men cannot  be  got  by  the  mere  signing  of  documents 
unless  they  already  exist,  and  it  was  lucky  for  the 
nation  that  such  fine,  stout  craft,  accustomed  to  long 
voyages  and  fighting,  manned  with  such  able  crews, 
should  already  be  at  hand  under  the  East  India 
Company.  At  the  time  of  which  we  speak  no  fewer 
than  six  of  their  finest  vessels  were  taken  into  the 
nation's  service  straight  away.  Eight  others  which 
had  not  quite  finished  building  were  also  assigned 
to  the  Government.  In  addition  to  these  fourteen 
handsome  craft,  the  Court  of  Directors  also  decided 
on  the  1 3th  of  March  to  raise  3000  men  at  their  own 
cost  for  the  Royal  Navy.  This  meant  a  loss  of 
;£ 57,000,  but  the  nation  needed  it  and  the  Company 


174  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

did  their  duty.  During  the  ensuing  July  the  Company 
further  decided  that  fourteen  East  Indiamen  should 
be  placed  at  the  disposal  of  the  Government  in 
September  ready  to  carry  troops  across  the  ocean— 
a  work  for  which  they  were  extremely  well  fitted— 
and  we  have  just  seen  to  what  advantage  this  was 
done.  England  at  this  time  was  distressed  by  the 
scarcity  of  corn,  but  in  order  to  relieve  this  distress 
in  some  measure  large  quantities  of  rice  were  brought 
home  by  twenty-seven  ships  which  the  Company 
purposely  added  to  their  fleet  for  the  emergency,  and 
these  were  the  India-built  ships  of  which  we  spoke 
just  now.  Thus  in  more  ways  than  one,  but  cer- 
tainly to  the  utmost  of  their  ability,  the  East  India 
Company  had  come  to  Britain's  aid  when  she  was 
passing  through  a  time  of  great  crisis. 

During  this  year  the  seas  which  wash  the  Indian 
coast  were  really  unsafe  to  merchantmen  by  reason 
of  the  presence  of  both  French  and  Dutch  cruisers 
and  privateers.  The  British  naval  strength  in  those 
waters  was  very  inadequate,  and  we  had  suffered 
some  naval  disasters  which  were  neither  a  credit  to 
our  seamanship  nor  likely  to  maintain  our  prestige 
as  gallant  sea-fighters.  The  whole  of  the  Bay  of 
Bengal  was  being  scoured  by  French  men-of-war 
ready  to  fall  upon  any  merchant  craft  that  dared 
show  herself.  The  privateers  were  both  numerous, 
well  manned,  well  armed,  well  commanded  and  very 
fast  sailers.  The  consequence  was  that  the  East 
Indiamen  never  completed  their  voyages  without 
having  some  excitement.  Nor  were  pirates  exter- 
minated; especially  along  the  Malabar  coast,  where 
they  had  many  fastnesses,  their  strongholds  being 
protected  by  forts.  These  men  feared  nothing,  and 


THE  EAST  INDIAMEN'S  ENEMIES         175 

had  actually  come  out  and  defeated  English,  French 
and  Dutch  men-of-war  that  had  been  especially  sent 
out  to  punish  them,  in  some  cases  even  captur- 
ing their  enemy's  ships.  A  French  4O-gun  frigate 
had  been  compelled  to  haul  down  her  colours  to 
these  robbers  of  the  sea :  one  of  the  East  India 
Company's  ships,  armed  with  twenty  guns,  had  also 
been  taken  after  a  fair  fight,  and  three  Dutch  men- 
of-war.  For  some  years  they  were  crushed  by  the 
wholesome  effect  of  a  regular  expedition  which  the 
English  had  sent  against  them,  but  after  a  few  years 
they  broke  out  again  in  their  piracy  and  by  the  year 
1798  they  were  freely  capturing  European  ships. 

On  at  least  one  occasion,  however,  they  made  a 
serious  mistake,  which  might  have  been  even  still 
more  grievous  for  them  but  for  a  piece  of  luck.  It 
happened  that  H.M.S.  Centurion,  a  SO-gun  frigate, 
was  cruising  in  the  neighbourhood,  and  her  the 
pirates  mistook  for  a  merchantman,  for  the  East 
Indiamen  were  very  similar  in  appearance  to  the 
frigates  of  the  Royal  Navy.  One  of  the  favourite 
devices  of  these  rovers  was  to  creep  up  under  cover 
of  darkness  and  wedge  the  rudder  of  the  ship  they 
intended  to  attack,  their  victim  being  thus  rendered 
unable  to  manoeuvre.  In  the  present  instance  they 
had  succeeded  in  carrying  out  this  tactic  to  the 
Centurion,  and  then  surrounded  the  ship  and  began 
their  attack.  The  frigate  was  certainly  surprised, 
but  she  soon  had  her  guns  loaded  and  brought  them 
to  bear  on  the  pirates,  and  so  punished  them  with  a 
hot  fire,  which  had  not  been  expected,  that  they  were 
glad  to  take  to  flight.  It  was  only  the  fact  of  the 
wedged  rudder  which  prevented  the  Centurion  from 
being  steered  in  pursuit  and  capturing  their  craft. 


176  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

However,  it  was  a  lesson  to  them  in  the  future,  and 
they  attacked  only  when  they  were  certain  of  their 
victim. 

Of  the  privateers  which  hung  about  in  Indian 
waters,  one  of  the  most  notorious  was  the  Malartic, 
which  had  captured  two  of  the  East  Indiamen, 
Raymond  and  Woodcot,  of  793  and  802  tons 
respectively.  Whenever  it  was  known  that  this  ship 
was  in  the  offing,  no  merchantman  dared  put  to  sea. 
She  eventually  captured  the  Princess  Royal,  an  805 
tonner,  and  other  East  Indiamen,  but  was  herself 
finally  taken  by  the  Company's  ship  Phoenix.  So 
great  was  the  relief  occasioned  by  this  deliverance 
that  Captain  M  off  at,  the  Phoenix's  commander,  was 
afterwards  publicly  presented  with  a  sword  of 
honour.  But  an  even  more  dangerous  privateer  was 
the  Confiance.  This  was  a  very  beautiful  ship,  and 
the  envy  of  every  captain  who  set  eyes  on  her. 
Captain  Eastwick,  who  knew  her  well,  and  to  whose 
account  I  am  indebted,  described  her  as  follows  :— 
;<  She  sat  very  low  upon  the  water,  and  had  black 
sides  with  yellow  moulding  posts,  and  a  French  stern 
all  black.  She  carried  a  red  vane  at  her  maintop- 
gallant  masthead,  very  square  yards  and  jaunt  masts, 
upright  and  without  the  smallest  rake  either  forwani 
or  aft.  Her  sails  were  all  cut  French  fashion,  and 
remarkable,  having  a  great  roach  and  steering  sail, 
very  square.  There  was  not  a  ship  in  those  seas 
that  she  could  not  overtake  or  sail  away  from.  It 
was  the  custom  of  her  commander,  Captain  Sour- 
couff,  to  ply  his  crew  with  liquor,  and  they  always 
fought  with  the  madness  of  drink  in  them." 

It  was  this  ship  which  attacked  the  East  Indiaman 
Kent,    and    after   a   heavy    engagement    killed    or 


THE  EAST  INDIAMEN'S  ENEMIES         177 

wounded  no  fewer  than  sixty  of  the  merchantman's 
crew,  with  the  result  that  the  latter  was  forced  to 
haul  down  her  flag.  When  the  news  of  this  occur- 
rence reached  Calcutta,  two  of  the  Company's  fri- 
gates were  sent  in  pursuit  of  the  privateer,  and  both 
coming  up  with  her  began  to  attack  with  such  deter- 
mination that  it  was  certain  the  Confiance  would 
have  to  yield.  This,  however,  she  refused  to  do, 
and  though  she  had  only  twenty-two  guns,  her 
captain  fought  his  ship  with  great  gallantry,  and 
even  though  his  losses  were  necessarily  great,  he 
was  able  at  the  end  to  escape  by  the  speed  of  his 
ship.  The  Kent,  however,  was  retaken  from  the 
clutches  of  the  Confiance  and  brought  into  Calcutta, 
and  a  few  years  later  the  Confiance  herself  was  also 
captured.  And  you  may  imagine  with  what  joy  the 
news  of  her  capture  was  received  when  it  was 
reckoned  that  within  one  single  twelvemonth  not  less 
than  ;£ 2, 000,000  worth  of  British  shipping  had  been 
captured  or  sunk  by  the  French  privateers  or  men 
of-war. 

And  there  was  the  curious  incident  of  the  Lord 
Eldon  being  nearly  captured  right  on  the  doorstep, 
so  to  speak,  of  her  home.  This  ship  was  an  East 
Indiaman  outward  bound  to  India.  At  the  moment 
of  which  we  are  speaking  she  had  backed  her  sails 
and  was  lying  off  the  Needle:  liove-to,  as  she  awaited 
some  passengers  who  had  been  delayed  in  joining 
her.  But  whilst  she  was  thus  hove-to  a  sea  fog 
suddenly  came  down.  Not  far  off  was  a  French 
privateer  hovering  about,  and  this  was  the  chance  of 
a  century.  Under  cover  of  this  fog  he  approached 
the  East  Indiaman  unobserved,  so  that  he  came  right 
alongside.  When  the  men  on  board  the  Lord  Eldon 


178  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

discovered  this  big  ship  close  up  to  them  in  the  haze 
they  were  alarmed,  but  not  for  the  reason  that  you 
might  suppose.  It  did  not  occur  to  them  that  she 
was  a  privateer,  but  they  assumed  she  was  one  of  the 
King's  ships  and  was  now  about  to  impress  the  East 
Indiaman's  crew  into  the  navy  in  the  manner  that  we 
saw  in  an  earlier  chapter.  As  the  crew  had  no  desire 
to  come  under  impressment,  they  at  once  hid,  with 
the  result  that  the  privateer's  men  had  no  difficulty 
in  coming  on  board  the  Lord  Eldon.  The  captain 
was  below  at  the  time,  and  hearing  a  noise  and 
clamour  came  on  deck  to  see  what  it  was  all  about : 
and  then  to  his  amazement  found  that  his  ship  was 
in  the  hands  of  the  enemy.  However,  he  was  not 
one  easily  to  be  daunted,  even  by  such  a  surprise  as 
this.  His  life  was  made  up  of  things  unexpected, 
and  knowing  that  his  men  were  well  drilled  he  called 
to  them  to  repel  boarders.  They  at  once  responded 
to  the  command  and  came  out  from  their  hiding- 
places,  and  after  a  sharp  fight  drove  the  invaders 
overboard.  One  Frenchman  had  even  got  possession 
of  the  Lord  Eldon' s  wheel,  but  the  East  Indiaman's 
captain  killed  him  with  his  own  hand,  cutting  off  his 
head  with  one  stroke  of  the  sword.  In  a  very  short 
time  the  privateer,  who  was  now  more  surprised  than 
the  crew  of  the  merchant  ship,  hurriedly  made  sail 
and  disappeared  into  he  fog.  The  incident  well 
shows  the  fighting  efficiency  of  the  commanders  and 
men  of  the  Company's  vessels  at  this  period. 

During  the  early  part  of  the  eighteenth  century 
about  a  dozen  or  fifteen  of  the  Company's  ships 
would  sail  to  the  East  Indies  from  London,  but  this 
average  gradually  rose  till,  about  the  year  1779,  there 
were  about  twenty  vessels  going  out  each  year.  But 


THE  EAST  INDIAMEN'S  ENEMIES         179 

thereafter  the  numbers  increased  to  such  an  extent 
that  in  some  years  there  were  as  many  as  thirty  or 
forty :  and  in  the  year  1795  as  many  as  seventy-six 
did  the  voyage.  After  that  date  the  numbers  became 
again  normal,  so  that  up  to  about  the  end  of  1810 
the  average  was  more  like  forty  or  fifty.  But  even 
this  meant  a  great  deal  of  trade  from  which  the 
country  and  Company  were  to  benefit  largely. 


CHAPTER    XIV 

SHIPS  AND  MEN 

BOMBAY  had  been  first  so  called  by  the  Dutch, 
meaning  Good  Bay.  Owing  to  its  spaciousness, 
excellent  depth  of  water  and  other  facilities  it  was 
well  designated.  By  the  end  of  the  eighteenth 
century  it  had  its,  dry  and  wet  docks  and  every 
facility  for  careening  and  repairing  ships,  being  of 
great  utility  to  the  Company's  merchant  ships  and  its 
navy  as  well.  Its  dockyard  was  furnished  with  all 
kinds  of  necessary  stores.  Here  there  was  always  on 
hand  plenty  of  timber  and  planking,  here  anchors 
could  be  forged,  here  new  cables  and  ropes  were 
made  of  all  kinds.  The  cables  were  of  hemp,  but 
for  the  smaller  ropes  the  external  fibres  of  the  cocoa- 
nut,  so  abundant  in  India,  were  made  up  into  that 
inferior  type  of  rope  known  as  kyah  or  coir. 

We  called  attention  on  another  page  to  the  intro- 
duction of  India-built  vessels  into  the  Company's 
service.  India  of  course  is  famous  for  its  teak,  and 
every  shipman  knows  what  excellent  material  this 
wood  is  for  building  craft,  owing  to  its  hardness  and 
durability.  The  vessels  which  Bombay  built  were 
fine,  stout  ships  and  excellently  finished,  and  Indian 
shipbuilders  even  constructed  some  battleships  and 
frigates  for  the  British  navy  which  were  in  every  way 

180 


SHIPS  AND  MEN  181 

splendid  vessels.  One  vessel  named  the  Swallow, 
which  was  built  out  here  and  launched  in  April  1777, 
was  actually  in  use  till  she  was  lost  on  a  shoal  in 
the  Hooghly  in  June  1823.  But  during  this  lengthy 
period  of  usefulness  she  had  served  in  many  seas 
and  in  various  capacities.  She  was  first  employed  as 
one  of  the  Company's  packets  between  India  and 
England.  After  that  she  was  in  the  Bombay  Marine, 
or  the  East  India  Company's  navy.  After  that  she 
again  resumed  service  as  one  of  the  Company's 
merchantmen,  where  she  remained  for  many  years. 
About  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century  she 
was  sold  to  the  Danes,  and  from  Copenhagen  pro- 
ceeded to  the  West  Indies,  where  she  was  arrested 
as  a  prize  by  a  British  man-of-war.  She  was  then 
employed  in  the  King's  service  and  became  a  sloop- 
of-war,  and  afterwards  sold  out  of  the  service  to 
some  merchants.  In  this  capacity  she  again  made 
several  voyages  between  London  and  Bombay,  and 
eventually  brought  her  fine  career  to  an  end  as  stated. 
Before  the  close  of  the  eighteenth  century  the 
Battle  of  the  Nile  had  been  fought  and  won.  The 
importance  of  this  to  India  was  tremendous.  For 
had  the  result  been  otherwise  Napoleon  would  have 
possessed  himself  of  all  that  the  English  East  India 
Company  had  done  there.  Our  Anglo-Indian  trade 
would  have  come  to  an  end,  and  the  ships  which  are 
the  subject  of  our  present  study  would  have  been  no 
longer  required,  or  else  compelled  to  sail  under  the 
French  flag.  Nelson,  in  fact,  had  despatched  a 
messenger  overland  to  the  Governor  of  Bombay, 
informing  the  latter  of  the  arrival  of  the  French  in 
Egypt,  for  he  knew  well  that  Bombay  was  the  objec- 
tive of  the  enemy  if  they  could  get  there.  However, 


182  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

Nelson's  victory  at  the  Nile  quite  altered  all  this, 
and  when  the  East  India  Company  afterwards  voted 
the  gallant  admiral  the  sum  of  ;£  10,000,  it  was  to 
show  how  deeply  indebted  was  this  corporation  for 
the  welcome  relief  from  catastrophe. 

Before  we  leave  the  eighteenth  century  we  have  to 
consider  some  of  the  more  important  changes  and 
developments  which  were  taking  place.  We  have 
seen  that  the  size  of  these  East  Indiamen  had 
gradually  increased  during  the  century.  About  the 
year  1700  the  biggest  vessels  were  under  500  tons. 
Some  were  even  much  smaller,  as,  for  instance,  the 
Juno,  of  1 80  tons,  and  the  Success  and  the  Borneo 
of  similar  size,  but  there  was  also  the  Arabella,  of 
only  140  tons,  and  the  Benjamin,  of  160  tons.  Be- 
tween the  years  1748  and  1772  all  the  Company's 
merchant  ships  are  of  one  size — 499  tons.  There 
are  very  few  exceptions  indeed  to  this,  and  in  those 
few  instances  you  get  an  occasional  ship  of  180,  300, 
35°>  37°  or  3^°  tons.  Otherwise  there  is  nothing 
but  this  stereotyped  499-ton  ship  year  after  year, 
season  after  season.  This  curious  fact  has  puzzled 
many  people,  including  those  who  in  later  days 
served  in  the  Company's  service.  Why  was  it? 

The  answer  is  quite  simple,  and  I  give  it  on  the 
authority  of  an  old  skipper  contemporary  with  these 
ships,  named  Hutchinson,  who  at  one  time  of  his 
life  had  been  a  privateer.  The  reader  will  remem- 
ber that  in  an  earlier  chapter  I  drew  attention  to  the 
slackness  of  morals  and  general  spirit  of  irreligion 
which  were  notorious  of  the  mid-eighteenth  century, 
at  any  rate  so  far  as  English  people  were  concerned. 
Naturally  enough  this  spirit  spread  to  the  ships  of 
the  East  India  Company,  so  that  the  corruption 


a-  ?          r 


If  I 


SHIPS  AND  MEN  183 

ashore  had  its  counterpart  afloat.  Now  these  craft, 
when  they  were  of  500  tons  and  over,  were  compelled 
to  carry  a  chaplain.  And  it  was  just  in  order  to  be 
able  to  dispense  with  the  latter,  and  so  save  expense, 
that  the  owners  used  to  cause  these  ships  to  be  rated 
at  499  tons,  and  so  keep  within  the  letter  of  the  law. 
These  499-ton  ships  carried  a  captain,  four  mates, 
a  surgeon  and  a  purser.  They  would  sail  from  the 
Downs  about  January  or  March  of  one  year,  proceed 
to  India  or  China,  and  then  be  back  again  in  the 
London  river  by  June  or  July  of  the  following  year, 
though  sometimes  they  were  away  for  much  longer 
periods.  When  homeward  bound  they  had  called 
at  Portsmouth — where  the  more  wealthy  passengers 
went  ashore  and  proceeded  home  by  road — and  the 
Downs,  they  eventually  made  fast  to  moorings  at  one 
of  three  places — Blackwall,  Deptford  and  North- 
fleet. 

We  spoke,  also,  some  time  back  of  what  were 
known  as  "  hereditary  bottoms/'  by  which  it  was 
meant  that  an  owner  who  had  been  accustomed  to 
charter  one  of  his  ships  to  the  Company  had  a  pro- 
prietary right  to  supply  other  ships  when  this  one 
had  been  worn  out.  Thus  one  finds,  for  instance, 
a  ship  called  the  Brunswick  built  on  the  bottom  of 
the  Atlas,  the  Hindostan  built  on  the  bottom  of  the 
Grosvenor,  and  so  on.  This  went  on  for  year  after 
year,  so  that  you  could  make  out  a  kind  of  genea- 
logical tree  of  East  India  ships.  It  was  a  very  clear 
instance  of  eighteenth-century  monopoly  which 
would  be  hard  to  beat.  But  this  principle  of  per- 
petuity came  to  an  end  on  6th  February  1796,  when 
open  competition  was  introduced.  There  can  be  no 
question  that  this  decision,  together  with  that  of 


184 


THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 


abolishing  the  sale  of  commands,  was  all  for  the 
good  of  the  service.  The  Company  themselves 
recognised  that  it  was  the  only  way  in  which  they 
could  have  an  efficient  fleet,  always  ready  and  con- 
sisting of  vessels  built  on  the  best  principles,  in- 
spected during  construction  by  the  Company's  own 
surveyors,  and  commanded  by  officers  "  of  acknow- 
ledged character,  talents  and  experience,"  and 
various  by-laws  were  passed  to  this  effect.  The 
following  list  will  afford  the  reader  some  idea  of 
the  size  and  dimensions  of  these  East  Indiamen 
ships  at  the  close  of  the  eighteenth  century.  The 
difference  between  the  burthen  tonnage  and  the 
chartered  tonnage  is  noticeable  : — 


Name  of  Ship 

Length 

Beam 

Burthen 
Tonnage 

Chartered 
Tonnage 

ft. 

in. 

ft. 

in. 

Ganges    . 

149 

0 

43 

6 

1502 

1200 

Hope 

144 

0 

43 

6 

1471 

1200 

Neptune  . 

144 

O 

43 

6 

1468 

I20O 

Hindostan 

144 

o 

43 

6 

1463 

1248 

Walmer  Castle 

144 

o 

43 

6 

1460 

1200 

Warley     . 

144 

o 

43 

6 

1460 

1200 

Earl  of  Abergavenny 

144 

0 

43 

6 

1460 

1200 

Royal  Charlotte 

144 

0 

43 

6 

1460 

758 

Coutts     . 

144 

o 

43 

6 

1451 

1200 

Cirencester 

144 

o 

43 

0 

1439 

1200 

Arniston  . 

144 

o 

43 

o 

1433 

1200 

Glatton    . 

144 

o 

43 

0 

1432 

1200 

Thames   . 

144 

o 

43 

0 

1432 

1200 

Ceres 

144 

0 

43 

o 

1430 

I20O 

Cuffnells  . 

144 

o 

43 

o 

1429 

1200 

Earl  Talbot      . 

144 

o 

43 

o 

1428 

1200 

Nottingham     . 

130 

0 

40 

0 

1152 

1152 

Dorsetshire 

134 

0 

42 

o 

I20O 

I20O 

Alfred      . 

134 

o 

41 

o 

1221 

1189 

David  Scott      . 

134 

o 

42 

o 

1257 

I20O 

Alnwick  Castle 

133 

"i 

42 

0 

1257 

I20O 

SHIPS  AND  MEN  185 


Name  of  Ship 

Length 

Beam 

Burthen 
Tonnage 

Chartered 
Tonnage 

ft. 

in. 

ft. 

in. 

Exeter 

132 

O 

41 

O 

1265 

I2OO 

Carnatic  . 

132 

0 

40 

6 

1169 

1169 

Boddam  . 

128 

O 

38 

6 

IO2I 

1021 

Albion 

125 

O 

38 

O 

961 

961 

Royal  Admiral 

I2O 

2 

37 

10 

914 

914 

Belvidere 

123 

0 

38 

8 

986 

987 

Earl  Howe 

117 

IO 

37 

41 

876 

876 

Sulivan    . 

116 

O 

35 

o 

876 

876 

Middlesex 

116 

O 

35 

o 

852 

852 

Princess  Charlotte    . 

IO2 

0 

33 

6| 

610 

610 

Earl  of  Wycombe     . 

101 

I  Of 

34 

51 

643 

655 

Princess  Mary  . 

93 

II 

34 

51 

643 

462 

The  science  and  art  of  shipbuilding  in  England 
during  the  eighteenth  century  were  very  defective 
compared  with  France.  But  during  the  last  decade 
of  this,  and  the  early  part  of  the  nineteenth  century, 
improvements  were  taking  place.  Papers  were  being 
read  before  the  Royal  Society,  treatises  were  being 
published,  a  number  of  valuable  experiments  were 
being  made  and  the  best  lessons  of  the  French  were 
being  studied.  To  all  this  must  be  attributed  the 
better  type  of  East  Indiaman  which  was  to  follow. 
The  continued  demand  for  tea  made  it  necessary  to 
have  fine,  big  ships  which  could  get  the  cargoes  of 
this  perishable  commodity  to  London  as  soon  as 
possible.  It  was  always  reckoned  that  an  8oo-ton 
ship  would  be  able  to  bring  home  about  750,000  Ib. 
of  tea,  and  a  i2oo-ton  ship  nearly  1,500,000  Ib. 
Some  idea  of  the  increased  popularity  of  this  com- 
modity in  England  will  be  ascertained  when  it  is 
stated  that  during  the  year  1765  five  million  Ibs.  were 
brought  home  and  sold  by  the  Company.  By  1784 
the  average  was  about  six  million  Ib.,  the  following 


186  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

year  this  figure  was  more  than  doubled,  and  by  the 
end  of  the  century  it  was  nearly  twenty-four  million 
Ib.  There  was,  therefore,  every  need  for  fine,  big 
ships  of  good  lines.  And  by  an  Act  of  1799  the 
Company  were  restricted  from  employing  in  their 
service  any  ships  but  those  contracted  for  six  voy- 
ages to  India  or  China  and  back.  Whenever  they 
wished  to  have  more  ships  built,  they  were  to  give 
public  notice  of  this  by  advertisement  four  weeks 
ahead,  inviting  tenders  for  building  and  freighting. 

But  in  the  year  1803  the  Company  were  em- 
powered to  engage  ships  for  two  additional  voyages, 
making  eight  in  all.  Two  reasons  were  given  for  this 
innovation.  First,  if  was  found  that  the  ships  now 
being  built  were  of  such  a  character  that  they  could 
be  repaired  and  refitted  to  perform  these  two  addi- 
tional voyages  with  great  advantage.  And  secondly, 
it  was  contended  that  if  fewer  ships  were  built,  this 
would  "  be  the  means  of  lessening  the  consumption 
of  ship-timber."  It  will  be  recollected  that  in  the 
year  1803  Napoleon  had  openly  and  intentionally 
insulted  the  British  Ambassador,  and  that  in  the 
month  of  May  war  was  again  declared,  and  both 
nations  made  elaborate  preparations  for  the  resump- 
tion of  hostilities,  the  British  taking  time  by  the 
forelock  and  sending  squadrons  to  watch  Brest  and 
Toulon.  All  this  warlike  activity  on  sea  made  it 
not  any  easier  for  the  East  Indiamen  to  go  about 
their  lawful  business.  In  effect  it  meant  that  they 
must  be  fitted  out  with  even  greater  care  and  that 
they  must  be  armed  as  strongly  as  ever  they  could 
be.  And  this,  in  turn,  meant  that  the  cost  to  the 
owners  of  the  ships  was  much  increased.  c  War 
extraordinaries,"  as  they  were  called,  were  always  a 


SHIPS  AND  MEN  187 

source  of  keen  dispute  during  those  anxious  years, 
between  the  Company  and  the  shipowners,  and  in 
this  present  case  the  Company  were  authorised  to 
pay  higher  rates  owing  to  the  increased  expense  to 
the  owners. 

But  such  was  the  improvement  in  the  class  of 
vessel  now  built  that  in  the  year  1810  they  were 
allowed  by  Act  of  Parliament  to  engage  ships  even 
beyond  the  allotted  eight  voyages,  provided  that 
after  being  repaired  they  were  found  fit  for  service. 
The  Company  were  also  allowed  to  take  up  by 
private  contract  certain  other  ships  in  order  to  bring 
home  the  cargoes  from  China  and  India.  Under 
this  class  were  chartered  vessels  which  had  taken  out 
to  New  South  Wales  convicts  and  stores.  The  East 
India  Company  had  already  come  to  the  country's 
aid  again  during  that  year,  1803.  Ten  thousand 
tons  of  shipping  did  they  lend  to  the  State  for  six 
months  free  of  charge,  though  this  meant  a  loss  to 
the  Company  of  ,£67,000.  These  ships  were  em- 
ployed in  guarding  the  British  coast  against  the 
threatened  invasion  by  the  French;  and  in  other 
ways  they  were  found  very  useful  to  the  Admiralty. 

In  peace  time  they  would  go  out  to  India  with 
troops  and  stores,  calling  at  St  Helena  on  the  way, 
and  then  return  home  with  cargoes  from  China  and 
India.  In  the  last-mentioned  territorial  waters  they 
were  almost  as  likely  to  be  annoyed  by  the  attentions 
of  the  press-gangs  as  they  were  in  English  waters, 
for  his  Majesty's  ships  out  there  were  sadly  in  need 
of  men.  Repeated  complaints  were  made  by  the 
Company  in  regard  to  this,  even  as  they  had  pre- 
viously complained  of  what  used  to  take  place  at 
home.  But  repeated  and  indignant  representations 


188  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

proved  ineffectual.  Captains  of  the  Royal  Navy 
must  have  men  for  their  ships,  and  the  distance 
between  England  and  India  was  too  great  for  much 
interference  under  this  category,  so  things  went  on 
pretty  much  as  before. 

It  will  have  been  noticed  from  the  list  of  the  East 
India  Company's  ships  given  on  an  earlier  page  in 
this  chapter  that  the  size  had  immensely  increased. 
Big  ships  always  necessitate  big  accommodation 
when  they  reach  port.  These  particular  craft  were 
far  and  away  the  biggest  merchant  ships  in  the  world, 
for  no  other  trade  either  required  or  could  afford 
such  vessels.  This  being  so,  the  East  Indiamen 
when  they  now  arrived  in  the  Thames  were  com- 
pelled to  lie  many  miles  'down  the  river,  since  there 
was  no  accommodation  for  them  higher  up.  But 
this  was  to  subject  them  to  a  grave  risk.  They  came 
home  with  most  valuable  cargoes  which  meant  not 
only  very  much  to  the  Company,  but  were  actually 
of  some  national  importance.  As  they  lay  out  in  the 
river  a  good  deal  of  pilfering  went  on,  and  the  loss 
was  very  serious,  not  merely  to  the  Company  and  the 
shipowners,  but  to  the  State,  which  lost  a  good 
deal  of  customs  duty  thereby,  since  the  goods  thus 
pilfered  were  then  smuggled  ashore.  It  was  there- 
fore realised  that  the  only  remedy  was  to  have  a 
sufficient  area  of  wet  docks  in  which  the  ships  could 
be  loaded  and  unloaded.  A  number  of  gentlemen 
therefore  decided  to  form  a  joint-stock  company  with 
a  capital  of  ,£200,000  in  order  to  provide  wet  docks 
to  be  enclosed  by  proper  walls  and  Bitches,  and 
communicating  with  the  Thames.  These  docks  were 
to  be  appropriated  solely  for  the  ships  in  the  India 
trade,  who  should  pay  a  duty  of  145.  a  ton  in  the 


SHIPS  AND  MEN  189 

case  of  a  registered  English  ship,  and  125.  a  ton  for 
every  India-built  ship  navigated  by  lascars.  It  was 
ordered  that  the  hatches  of  every  ship  arriving  from 
India  or  China  should  be  locked  down  before  the 
ship  reached  Gravesend,  and  the  captain,  and  one  of 
the  two  officers  next  to  him  in  command,  must  remain 
on  board  until  such  time  as  the  ship  was  moored  in 
the  docks,  and  the  keys  of  the  hatches  handed  over 
to  an  officer  of  the  East  India  Company.  Of  the 
thirteen  directors  of  these  docks,  four  must  be 
directors  of  the  East  India  Company. 

The  result  of  this  was  that  the  East  India  Docks, 
so  well  known  to  all  who  take  any  interest  in  the  port 
of  London,  were  brought  into  being.  During  the 
early  part  of  the  year  1914,  whilst  alterations  were 
being  made  in  connection  with  the  elaborate  scheme 
for  the  improvement  of  London's  shipping  facilities, 
the  original  foundation-stone  of  the  undertaking  was 
discovered.  This  had  been  laid  as  far  back  as  4th 
March  1804.  It  had  been  submerged  in  the  import 
dock,  but  was  revealed  at  the  base  of  one  of  the  old 
quay  walls,  from  which  it  slightly  projected.  On  its 
top  were  found  recorded  the  names  of  Mr  Joseph 
Cotton,  who  was  then  Chairman  of  the  East  India 
Dock  Company,  and  of  Mr  John  Woolmore,  the 
deputy  chairman.  The  inscription  stated  that  the 
stone  had  been  laid  by  Mr  Joseph  Huddart,  F.R.S., 
and  the  names  of  the  engineers,  Mr  John  Rennie  and 
Mr  Ralph  Walker,  were  added.  After  the  dock  was 
opened  there  were  for  many  years  seen  therein  the 
pick  of  the  world's  shipping.  But  now,  with  the 
overwhelming  conquest  of  the  steamship  the  whole 
aspect  has  been  quite  changed.  Gone  are  those  fine 
old  wind-jammers,  gone  is  the  romance  of  these 


190  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

ships  from  the  Orient,  gone  is  the  stately,  naval 
system  under  which  these  vessels  were  run,  gone  are 
the  handsome  opportunities  for  making  fortunes 
which  were  then  open  to  the  captains  and  officers  of 
the  mercantile  marine. 

In  some  years  these  ships  were  very  unfortunate. 
The  years  1808  and  1809  were  particularly  unhappy 
for  the  Company's  craft.  Ten  homeward-bound 
East  Indiamen  were  lost,  and  with  them  vanished 
over  a  million  sterling.  The  months  of  November 
1808  and  March  1809  were  notoriously  stormy. 
Even  such  big  craft  as  the  Britannia  (1200  tons)  and 
the  True  Briton  (1198  tons)  were  lost  during  this 
period.  The  former  went  down  off  the  South  Fore- 
land on  25th  January  1809.  The  latter  had  parted 
company  from  the  Bombay  ships  on  I3th  October 
in  that  year,  whilst  sailing  in  the  China  seas,  and 
was  never  heard  of  again.  The  Admiral  Gardner 
had  set  forth  from  the  Downs  on  24th  January  1809, 
and  also  foundered  off  the  South  Foreland  on  the 
same  day  as  the  Britannia.  The  Calcutta  parted 
company  with  the  other  East  Indiamen  off  Mauritius 
on  1 4th  March  1809,  and  was  never  seen  again. 
Other  ships  were  captured  by  the  enemy,  some  were 
blown  up,  others  ended  their  days  by  fire,  some  ran 
ashore,  but  as  a  rule  these  old  East  Indiamen 
managed  to  get  their  freights  into  the  London  river 
with  safety. 

About  the  year  1809  the  rates  of  insurance  between 
Bengal  and  England  were  ^7,  75.  for  the  regular 
East  Indiaman,  and  £j  on  her  cargo.  In  the  case 
of  "  extra  "  ships  the  premium  was  ^9,  95.  on  the 
ship  and  ^9  on  the  cargo.  India-built  ships  were 
not  insured  at  all,  but  the  cargo  was  insured  at 


COMMODORE   SIR  NATHANIEL   DANCE. 

(By  courtesy  of  Messrs.  T.  H.  Parker  Brothers) 


SHIPS  AND  MEN  191 

^15,  155.  If  the  Company's  ships  were  convoyed 
home,  then  the  "  extra  "  craft  were  charged  only 
£i  from  Bengal  to  St  Helena,  and  another  £  i  from 
St  Helena  to  England.  If  there  were  more  than  one 
ship  then  only  195.  was  charged  in  both  cases,  but 
India-built  ships  in  these  instances  were  charged 
£2,  IDS. 

The  number  of  ships  employed  for  the  India  and 
China  trade  during  the  years  1803  to  1808  will  be 
found  indicative  of  the  Company's  activities.  These 
varied  from  forty-four  to  fifty-three,  and  their 
burden  from  36,671  to  45,342  tons.  They  ran  great 
risks  sometimes,  but  in  spite  of  occasional  casualties 
they  were  often  more  than  able  to  look  after  them- 
selves, when  no  naval  force  could  be  spared  to 
convoy  them.  One  of  the  most  famous  instances  on 
record  is  that  in  which  the  exploits  of  a  certain 
Captain  Nathaniel  Dance  figured  prominently.  This 
gallant  commander  was  in  charge  of  the  Company's 
ship  Earl  Camden.  This  vessel  was  of  1200  tons 
charter,  and  had  sailed  from  England  in  the  season 
of  1802-1803.  She  had  put  into  Torbay,  and  left 
there  on  4th  January  1803,  and  proceeded  to  Bom- 
bay and  China.  On  the  last  day  of  January  in  the 
following  year  she  had  filled  up  her  holds  and  began 
her  return  voyage  from  China.  With  her  sailed  also 
fifteen  other  East  Indiamen,  named  respectively  the 
Warley,  Alfred,  Royal  George,  Coutts,  W  ex  ford, 
Ganges,  Exeter,  Earl  of  Abergavenny,  Henry 
'Addington,  Bombay  Castle,  Cumberland,  Hope, 
Dorsetshire,  Warren  Hastings  and  Ocean.  And 
inasmuch  as  Captain  Dance  was  the  senior  com- 
mander he  acted  as  commodore  for  this  China  fleet. 
In  addition  to  these  sixteen  vessels  a  number  of 


192  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

other  vessels  were  put  under  his  charge  to  convoy 
them  as  far  as  their  courses  were  the  same.  These 
vessels  included  a  dozen  "  country  "  ships. 

The  "  country  "  trade,  by  the  way,  was  the  trade 
between  India  and  the  East  as  far  as  China  and 
Manila.  It  was  largely  carried  on  by  civil  servants 
of  the  East  India  Company  and  the  free  merchants 
living  under  the  Company's  protection.  In  effect 
the  Company  resigned  this  trade  to  these  people,  the 
scope  of  this  commerce  to  the  westward  extending  as 
far  as  the  Red  Sea,  the  principal  commodities  being 
indigo,  pepper  and  cotton.  Of  the  East  India  Com- 
pany's ships  the  Ganges  was  a  fast-sailing  brig, 
which  was  to  be  employed  by  Dance  in  any  way  that 
might  tend  to  the  safety  and  convenience  of  the  fleet 
until  it  had  passed  through  the  Straits  of  Malacca, 
when  he  was  to  send  her  on  to  Bengal. 

On  the  1 4th  of  February  at  daybreak  the  Royal 
George  made  a  signal  to  the  commodore  that  she 
had  sighted  four  strange  sail  to  the  south-west. 
Thereupon  Dance  signalled  that  the  Alfred,  Royal 
George,  Bombay  Castle  and  the  Ho-pe  should  run 
down  and  examine  them.  It  happened  that  among 
the  passengers  aboard  Dance's  ship  was  Lieutenant 
Fowler,  R.N.,  and  the  latter,  who  had  recently  been 
commander  of  the  Porpoise,  offered  to  go  in  the 
Ganges  brig  and,  getting  quite  close  up  to  the 
strange  craft,  examine  them  carefully.  To  this  the 
commodore  assented,  and  away  she  went  too.  After 
a  while  Dance  learned  by  signal  that  the  four  strange 
vessels  were  none  other  than  a  squadron  of  the 
enemy,  consisting  of  a  line-of-battle  ship,  two 
frigates  and  a  brig.  At  one  P.M.  Dance  signalled 
to  his  scouts  to  return,  and  formed  the  line  of  battle 


SHIPS  AND  MEN  193 

in  close  order.  Now  this  merchant  captain  was  a 
decidedly  able  tactician,  and  it  is  most  interesting 
to  note  the  way  he  disposed  his  forces  for  battle. 

When  the  enemy  saw  that  they  could  "  fetch  "  in 
the  wake  of  the  East  Indiamen,  they  went  about,  but' 
the  commodore  held  on  his  course,  keeping  under 
easy  sail.  About  sunset  the  enemy  were  close  up 
to  the  rear  of  the  English  fleet,  and  as  Dance 
momentarily  expected  his  rear  ships  would  be 
attacked,  he  stood  by  to  succour  them.  But  as  the 
day  ended  no  attack  came,  and  the  enemy  hauled 
off  to  windward.  Meanwhile  the  commodore  sent 
Lieutenant  Fowler  in  the  Ganges  to  station  the 
twelve  country  ships  to  leeward  of  the  line  of  East 
Indiamen,  so  that  the  latter  were  between  the  enemy 
and  the  country  ships.  This  was  duly  carried  out 
and  Mr  Fowler  returned,  bringing  with  him  some 
volunteers  from  the  latter  to  help  work  the  East 
Indiamen  in  the  fight.  All  night  long  the  ships  lay 
in  their  line  of  battle,  and  at  daybreak  the  enemy 
were  descried  about  three  miles  to  windward  hove-to. 
The  English  ships  now  hoisted  their  colours  and 
offered  battle.  The  enemy's  four  ships  hoisted 
French  colours.  These  ships  consisted  of  the 
Marengo,  an  84-gun  ship  with  1200  men;  the  Belle 
Poule,  44  guns  and  490  men ;  the  Semilante,  36  guns 
and  400  men;  and  the  Berceau,  32  guns  and  350 
men.  The  Marengo  was  seen  to  be  flying  the  flag 
of  a  rear-admiral.  In  addition  there  was  an  i8-gun 
brig  under  Dutch  colours. 

At  nine  A.M.,  as  the  enemy  showed  no  signs  of 
engaging,  the  commodore  formed  the  order  of  sailing 
and  resumed  his  course,  still  under  easy  sail.  But 
the  enemy  now  filled  his  sails  and  edged  towards 


194  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

the  China  fleet.  At  i  P.M.  it  was  obvious  that  the 
rear-admiral's  intention  was  to  cut  off  the  English 
rear,  so  Dance  made  the  signal  to  tack  and  bear 
down  on  him  and  engage  him  in  succession,  the 
Royal  George  being  the  leading  ship,  the  Ganges 
second,  and  the  Earl  Camden  (flagship)  next.  This 
was  done  and  then  under  a  press  of  sail  the  British 
ships  ran  towards  the  enemy — a  very  magnificent 
sight  for  those  privileged  to  behold  it.  The  enemy 
then  formed  in  a  very  close  line,  and  opened  fire 
on  the  first  ships,  but  this  was  not  returned  until  the 
distance  was  much  reduced.  The  Royal  George  had 
to  bear  the  brunt  of  the  engagement,  being  in  the 
van,  and  in  consequence  suffered,  but  she  got  as 
close  as  she  could  to  the  enemy.  As  soon  as  their 
guns  could  have  effect,  the  Ganges  and  Earl  Camden 
opened  fire,  and  the  rest  of  the  ships  were  ready  to 
go  into  action  as  soon  as  their  guns  could  bear.  But 
before  this  was  possible  the  French  rear-admiral  had 
taken  alarm,  the  enemy  hauled  their  wind  and  made 
away  to  the  eastward,  with  every  stitch  of  sail  they 
could  set.  They  had  been  beaten — and  by  mer- 
chantmen. 

Dance  then  made  the  signal  for  a  general  chase. 
This  was  at  2  P.M.,  and  the  retreating  enemy  were 
pursued  for  two  hours,  but  as  the  commodore  feared 
that  further  pursuit  would  take  his  fleet  too  far  from 
the  Straits,  and  that  his  first  duty  was  to  preserve 
his  ships  rather  than  give  the  enemy  any  further 
oeating,  he  made  the  signal  to  tack,  and  at  8  P.M. 
anchored  for  the  night,  so  as  to  be  able  to  make  for 
the  entrance  of  the  Straits  in  the  morning.  The 
casualties  were  confined  to  the  Royal  George,  which 
had  lost  one  man  killed  and  one  more  wounded. 


SHIPS  AND  MEN  195 

Her  sails  and  hull  had  received  many  shot,  but  both 
the  Ganges  and  the  Earl  Camden  were  practically 
untouched.  The  enemy's  gunnery  was  distinctly 
bad,  the  shot  falling  either  short  or  over. 

Every  man  who  took  part  in  this  extraordinary 
engagement  had  done  his  duty  handsomely.  Captain 
Timins  of  the  Royal  George  had  taken  his  ship  into 
action  most  gallantly,  but  every  ship  in  the  English 
line  had  been  cleared  and  prepared  for  action, 
anxious  to  have  the  opportunity  of  showing  their 
worth.  As  the  enemy  had  now  long  since  disap- 
peared there  was  nothing  for  Dance  to  do  but  con- 
tinue on  his  homeward  voyage.  From  Malacca  he 
despatched  Fowler  in  the  Ganges  brig  to  Pulo 
Penang,  asking  the  captain  of  any  of  his  Majesty's 
ships  to  convoy  this  exceedingly  valuable  fleet — 
the  value  of  the  sixteen  ships  together  with  their 
cargoes  and  private  property  amounting  to  nearly 
eight  million  pounds  sterling.  It  was  learned  at 
Malacca  that  the  squadron  which  had  just  been 
encountered  was  that  of  Admiral  Linois,  comprising 
a  battleship,  two  heavy  frigates,  a  corvette  and  the 
brig. 

On  the  28th  of  February,  whilst  in  the  Straits  of 
Malacca,  Dance's  fleet  fell  in  with  two  of  his 
Majesty's  ships,  Albion  axi&Sceptre,  and  the  Albion's 
captain  was  prevailed  upon  to  take  charge  now  of  the 
fleet,  considering  its  national  importance,  and  on  the 
9th  of  June  these  treasure  ships  reached  St  Helena, 
still  under  the  convoy  of  the  two  British  men-of-war. 
There  the  latter  parted  company  from  the  merchant- 
men, and  instead  H.M.S.  Planta genet  convoyed 
them  to  England,  where  they  arrived  early  in  the 
month  of  August.  The  news  of  this  successful 


196  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

engagement,  the  circumstance  that  an  enemy's  fleet 
had  been  put  to  flight  and  chased  by  a  fleet  of  East 
Indiamen  caused  the  greatest  acclamation  in  Lon- 
don. The  Patriotic  Fund  Committee  presented 
Commodore  Dance  with  a  sword  of  the  value  of 
;£ioo,  and  a  silver  vase  of  the  same  worth;  to 
Captain  Timins  a  sword  of  the  value  of  ^50,  and 
each  of  the  other  captains,  as  well  as  to  Lieutenant 
Fowler. 

As  for  the  directors  of  the  East  India  Company, 
they  showed  their  appreciation  of  the  gallantry  and 
the  preservation  of  their  property  in  the  most  hand- 
some manner.  Setting  aside  about  ,£50,000  they 
rewarded  Commodore  Dance  with  the  sum  of  2000 
guineas,  and  a  piece  of  plate  valued  at  200  guineas. 
To  Captain  Timins  1000  guineas  and  a  piece  of 
plate  valued  at  100  guineas.  To  Captain  Moifat 
500  guineas  and  a  piece  of  plate  valued  at  100 
guineas.  The  other  thirteen  captains  were  each 
awarded  500  guineas  and  a  piece  of  plate  valued 
at  50  guineas.  The  chief  officers  received  each  150 
guineas,  the  second  officers  125  guineas,  and  so  on 
down  to  the  boatswains,  who  got  50  guineas,  and  the 
seamen  and  servants  6  guineas  each.  The  Company 
also  presented  Lieutenant  Fowler  with  300  guineas 
and  a  piece  of  plate,  as  well  as  500  guineas  to  the 
captain  of  the  Plantagenet,  who  had  convoyed  them 
home  from  St  Helena. 

Commodore  Sir  Nathaniel  Dance  was  offered  a 
baronetcy,  which  he  refused,  but  accepted  a  knight- 
hood :  and  thus  ended  the  last  chapter  in  an  incident 
that  was  the  pride  and  subject  of  yarning  among  the 
men  of  the  East  India  Company's  service  for  many 
a  long  day.  It  certainly  shows  the  British  merchant 


SHIPS  AND  MEN  197 

sailor  at  his  best — ready  for  a  fight,  going  into  the 
engagement  gallantly,  and  yet  all  the  while  remem- 
bering that  his  first  duty  is  to  his  owners  and  to  get 
ships  and  cargoes  safely  to  port  without  unneces- 
sarily wasting  valuable  time. 


CHAPTER    XV 

AT    SEA   IN   THE    EAST   INDIAMEN 

THE  first  decade  of  the  nineteenth  century  had  been 
very  unfortunate  for  the  East  India  Company. 
There  had  been  the  losses  of  those  ships  already 
mentioned,  owing  to  disasters  at  sea.  This  meant 
not  only  the  loss  to  the  Company  of  the  rich  cargoes, 
but  of  the  advances  to  the  owners  amounting  to 
thousands  of  pounds.  The  French  war  had  also 
not  merely  interfered  with  the  coming  and  going  of 
the  merchant  ships,  but  it  had  thrown  the  whole  of 
Europe  into  such  a  state  of  bewilderment  that  com- 
merce generally  was  paralysed,  and  therefore  the 
trade  in  Indian  goods  to  the  different  parts  of  the 
Continent  was  exceedingly  curtailed.  Notwithstand- 
ing all  that  had  been  done  by  the  Act  of  1796,  and 
the  superintendence  which  was  exercised  over  the 
Company,  the  latter  was  anything  but  prosperous.  It 
had  been  engaged  in  hostilities  with  the  Mahrattas 
and  other  Eastern  powers.  The  result  had  been  the 
acquisition  of  vast  territory  which  was  shortly  to  be 
for  the  good  of  the  British  Empire.  But  the  im- 
mediate result  of  all  this  was  that  the  Company's 
finances  were  in  a  crippled  condition.  Later  on  we 
shall  see  what  a  wholesale  effect  the  abolition  of  the 
monopoly  had  on  the  Eastern  trade,  dating  from  the 

198 


AT  SEA  IN  THE  EAST  INDIAMEN         199 

year  1813  :  but  before  we  come  to  that  I  desire  to 
give  the  reader  a  fair  account  of  the  conditions  of 
life  in  the  East  Indiamen  of  the  first  part  of  the 
nineteenth  century.  We  shall  presently  proceed  to 
examine  these  in  greater  detail,  but  it  will  greatly 
assist  the  imagination  if  we  look  into  contemporary 
accounts  left  behind  by  officers  who  put  to  sea  in 
these  craft. 

And  first  of  all  let  us  take  the  account  of  that 
Captain  Eastwick  whom  we  introduced  to  the  reader 
on  an  earlier  page.  This  time  he  was  proceeding  to 
India,  not  in  his  capacity  of  mercantile  officer,  but 
as  a  passenger.  Nevertheless  his  ripe  knowledge 
and  experience  were  of  the  greatest  value  to  these 
East  Indiamen,  as  will  be  seen.  It  was  a  tedious 
business  in  those  days  to  get  down  to  Portsmouth, 
where  the  wealthier  passengers  used  to  join  the  East 
Indiamen.  Eastwick  was  taking  out  to  India  his 
sister-in-law  on  a  visit  to  her  brother-in-law,  Colonel 
Gordon.  The  journey  was  made  to  Portsmouth  by 
road,  of  course,  and  those  who  have  motored  along 
this  Portsmouth  road  scarcely  realise  how  tedious 
and  risky  the  journey  was  in  those  days.  In  the 
month  of  January  1809  Eastwick  and  his  sister-in- 
law  set  out  on  their  journey  with  a  good,  deal  of 
luggage  and  jewellery,  as  well  as  a  hundred  pounds 
in  money.  They  had  to  cross  Hounslow  Heath, 
which  was  then  infested  with  robbers,  and  there  was 
every  probability  of  the  post-boys  being  held  up,  the 
horses  shot  and  the  passengers  relieved  of  their 
possessions.  However,  in  the  present  case  the 
journey  to  Portsmouth  was  made  without  adventure, 
where  it  was  learnt  that  the  Neptune  East  Indiaman 
would  not  sail  for  another  ten  days.  . 


200  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

This  was  a  vessel  of  1200  charter  tons,  and  one 
of  the  largest  of  the  East  India  Company's  fleet, 
being  employed  for  the  voyage  to  Bombay  and 
China,  this  being  her  sixth  trip  thereto.  She  was 
owned  by  Sir  William  Fraser,  Bart.,  and  commanded 
by  Captain  William  Donaldson,  under  whom  were  a 
chief  officer  and  three  mates,  a  surgeon  and  a  purser. 
After  the  Neptune  and  her  fellow-ships  of  the  Com- 
pany's fleet  had  at  last  got  under  way  a  storm  came 
up — the  reader  will  remember  that  this  year,  1809, 
was  notorious  for  its  virulent  weather — and  as  a 
result  the  Henry  Addingion,  another  East  Indiaman 
of  about  the  same  size,  got  driven  to  the  eastward 
round  Selsey  Bill  and  struck  the  Bognor  Rocks  to 
the  north-eastward  of  the  Bill,  and  it  was  only  with 
difficulty  that  she  got  off  and  reached  Portsmouth 
again.  This  storm  had  dispersed  the  whole  of  the 
Company's  fleet  outward-bound,  and  the  Neptune 
had  found  herself  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Channel 
Islands,  where  she  was  in  extreme  danger.  Captain 
Donaldson  ordered  the  second  mate  to  go  aloft  and 
help  to  take  in  the  foretopsail,  but  this  the  officer 
refused  to  do,  and  he  was  instantly  "  broke." 

Eastwick  thereupon  volunteered  to  fill  his  place, 
and  this  offer  was  gladly  accepted  temporarily,  the 
Neptune  eventually  sailing  across  the  English 
Channel  once  more  and  let  go  anchor  on  the  Mother 
Bank  (to  the  west  of  Ryde,  Isle  of  Wight).  Here 
the  ship  was  refitted  for  a  second  attempt,  and  the 
second  mate  had  his  place  now  taken  by  a  Mr 
Richard  Alsager,  who  had  lately  been  M.P.  for 
Surrey.  At  length  the  Neptune  was  ready  for  sea 
once  more,  the  heavy  weather  had  given  way  to 
beautiful  summer,  and  the  wind  was  fair  for  making 


AT  SEA  IN  THE  EAST  INDIAMEN         201 

a  quick  passage  down  the  English  Channel :  so  on 
2  ist  June  the  East  India  fleet  weighed  anchor  and 
proceeded,  consisting  of  the  Neptune,  Henry 
Addington,  Scale  by  Castle  and  the  True  Briton. 
These  ships  were  all  pretty  much  of  the  same  size, 
though  the  True  Briton  was  of  1198  charter  tons. 
So  fine  did  the  weather  continue  that  when  the  fleet 
was  two  days  out  from  England  the  captain  of  the 
Neptune  gave  a  dance  on  board  to  the  passengers  of 
all  the  ships,  and  the  following  evening  another 
dance  was  given  by  the  captain  of  the  Henry 
Addington.  Fortunately  the  passengers  were  safely 
rowed  across  the  ocean  to  the  entertaining  vessel, 
and  back.  But  most  people  will  agree  with  East- 
wick's  criticism  of  this  foolish  proceeding.  "  I  did 
not  consider  it  prudent  at  such  a  season  of  the  year 
to  do  these  things  at  sea." 

So  the  voyage  continued  as  far  as  Table  Bay  with 
everything  in  their  favour.  After  rounding  the  Cape, 
the  Neptune,  the  Scaleby  Castle  and  the  True  Briton 
shaped  a  course  for  Bombay,  but  the  Henry  Adding- 
ton was  compelled  to  stay  behind  in  order  to  repair 
a  bad  leak  that  had  broken  out  afresh.  This  was 
doubtless  a  relic  of  the  incident  on  Bognor  Rocks. 
Whilst  approaching  Madagascar  Captain  Donaldson 
invited  the  other  two  captains  to  come  on  board  and 
dine  with  him,  and  during  the  conversation  the  sub- 
ject came  up  of  the  disagreeable  weather  met  with 
during  the  south-west  monsoon  on  going  into  Bom- 
bay. Eastwick  offered  that  if  no  pilot  were  available 
he  would  take  the  squadron  in,  and  this  the  three 
captains  accepted.  The  next  day  they  encountered 
just  that  experience  which  the  reader  will  remember 
occurred  to  some  of  the  first  English  sailors  when 


202  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

bound  to  India.  For  a  heavy  clap  of  thunder — "  so 
loud  it  sounded  as  though  a  hundred  great  guns  were 
going  off  " — broke  over  the  Neptune  and  an  extra- 
ordinary flash  of  lightning  took  place,  and  so  close 
that  Eastwick  declares  he  saw  many  electric  balls 
darting  into  the  water.  The  chief  officer  was  on 
watch  at  the  time,  and  came  running  aft.  He 
announced  that  the  ship  had  been  struck  in  the  fore- 
mast and  that  the  lightning  had  knocked  down  four 
of  the  men.  It  took  the  crew  afterwards  sixteen 
hours  to  repair  the  damage,  get  up  the  new  foretop- 
mast,  foretopgallant  mast  and  yard,  for  the  original 
ones  had  been  rendered  useless. 

As  the  squadron  approached  Bombay  they  got  into 
the  south-west  monsoon,  with  very  thick,  dirty 
weather  and  a  tremendous  sea  running.  It  was  when 
they  were  just  a  day's  sail  off  Bombay  that  the 
captain  of  the  True  Briton,  who  was  acting  as  com- 
modore of  the  squadron,  made  the  signal :  "  Will 
Eastwick  stand  by  his  promise?  ''  This  was  im- 
mediately answered  by  the  affirmative  signal,  and 
then  the  commodore  ran  up  another  :  "  Neptune,  go 
ahead,  and  lead  the  way/5  So,  although  a  passenger, 
Eastwick  had  the  honour  of  taking  the  squadron  into 
Bombay  harbour  and  never  picked  up  a  pilot  until 
ready  to  let  go  anchor. 

But  even  more  illuminating  than  Eastwick  is  a 
man  named  Thomas  Addison,  who  was  born  on  i8th 
December  1785,  and  made  a  dozen  voyages  in  the 
old  East  Indiamen,  entering  the  service  as  a  midship- 
man of  the  Marquis  Welle  si  ey  in  February  1802,  and 
eventually  rising  to  fifth  mate,  and  so  to  first  mate 
by  May  1817.  There  are  of  course  plenty  of  log- 
books and  journals  still  existing,  but  one  has  to 


AT  SEA  IN  THE  EAST  INDIAMEN         203 

wade  through  many  pages  before  one  finds  anything 
of  real  interest.  In  the  case  of  Addison,  however, 
there  is  so  much  in  his  journals  that  reveals  to  us 
the  life  and  the  incidents  on  board  these  old  ships 
of  the  Company's  service  that  we  cannot  feel  other 
than  grateful  that  the  MS.  still  exists.  After  his 
death  these  journals  eventually  passed  into  the  hands 
of  a  Norfolk  rector,  who  was  good  enough  to  place 
them  in  the  hands  of  the  Navy  Records  Society,  and 
a  few  years  ago  they  were  edited  by  Sir  John 
Laughton  and  published  under  the  auspices  of  that 
Society.  It  is  to  this  source  that  I  am  indebted 
for  the  information  which  is  afforded  by  Addison, 
though  space  will  not  allow  of  more  than  a  brief 
outline  of  his  experiences. 

He  was  able  to  obtain  a  berth  in  the  Honourable 
Company's  "  Maritime  Service  "  (as  it  was  called, 
in  contradistinction  to  the  Company's  Marine)  owing 
to  the  influence  of  a  Mr  Edmund  Antrobus,  a  teaman 
and  banker  in  the  Strand.  The  latter  took  the 
sixteen-year-old  youth  and  introduced  him  to  a 
Mr  Matthew  White,  who  was  the  managing  owner 
of  the  ship  Marquis  of  Welle  sley,  by  whom  the 
midshipman's  appointment  had  been  granted.  She 
was  a  vessel  of  818  charter  tons  and  was  now  about 
to  start  on  her  second  voyage  to  India,  her  com- 
mander being  Captain  Bruce  Mitchell.  Mr  White 
gave  Addison  a  letter  of  introduction  to  the  chief 
officer,  named  Le  Blanc,  anU  after  the  boy  had  com- 
pleted his  sea-going  kit  he  was  taken  down  to  the 
ship  at  Gravesend  by  Mr  Antrobus.  Addison  was 
now  handed  over  to  his  future  messmates,  and  then 
began  his  initiation.  As  so  many  of  these  old-time 
ceremonies  have  long  since  passed  away,  it  may  not 


204  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

He  out  of  place  to  say  Addison  was  sent  up  into  the 
mizen  top,  outside  the  futtocks,  where  according  to 
custom  he  should  have  been  seized  up  to  the  rigging 
by  a  couple  of  seamen,  had  he  not  received  the  tip 
to  promise  them  beforehand  a  gallon  of  beer.  "  In 
lieu  of  which,  by  the  by,  five  gallons  was  afterwards 
demanded  of  me  by  my  messmates,  stating  that  the 
mizen  top  was  their  sole  prerogative.  This  is  a  very 
old  usage  practised  on  board  all  ships,  considered  a 
fair  claim  from  all  strangers  on  first  going  aloft." 

In  addition  to  the  captain,  there  were  the  chief 
officer,  three  mates  and  a  large  crew.  In  all  there 
were  thirty  officers  and  petty  officers,  the  whole  com- 
plement amounting  to  151,  which  nowadays  would 
be  thought  enormous  for  a  ship  of  her  size.  The 
men  received  two  months'  wages  in  advance  before 
sailing,  and  in  February  1802  made  sail  down  the 
Thames  from  Gravesend  under  the  charge  of  one  of 
the  Company's  pilots,  who  brought  her  safely  into 
the  Downs,  where  the  wind  was  blowing  hard  from 
the  south-west,  sending  in  a  high  sea.  Addison  was 
destined  at  once  to  have  excitement,  for  about  sun- 
down, whilst  his  Majesty's  frigate  Egyptienne  was 
coming  to  anchor  in  the  Downs,  she  had  shortened 
sail  and  left  herself  too  little  way  to  shoot  ahead  of 
the  Indiaman,  with  the  result  that  she  fell  broadside 
on  to  the  Marquis  Wellesley's  bows,  tearing  away  the 
latter's  cutwater  and  bowsprit,  bringing  down  the 
foretopmast  also,  making  in  fact  a  clean  sweep  of 
the  ship  forward.  The  merchantman  was  lying  to 
a  single  anchor  at  the  time,  but  although  it  blew  most 
of  a  gale  during  the  night  the  ship  rode  it  out  all 
right,  and  next  morning,  the  weather  having 
moderated,  the  frigate's  commander  sent  some  hands 


AT  SEA  IN  THE  EAST  INDIAMEN        205 

on  board  to  give  the  ship  a  temporary  refit.  After 
this  the  Indiaman  proceeded  to  Portsmouth,  where 
she  was  fully  repaired  alongside  a  man-of-war  hulk. 
On  the  4th  of  March  she  went  out  of  harbour  and 
anchored  at  Spithead,  where  she  took  on  board  a 
number  of  his  Majesty's  dragoons,  as  well  as  forty- 
nine  of  the  East  India  Company's  troops  and  their 
wives  for  India.  The  next  day,  having  received  the 
Company's  packet  from  the  India  House  and  the 
despatches  for  Bengal  and  Madras,  she  weighed 
anchor  in  the  afternoon  and  proceeded  down 
Channel. 

The  last  of  old  England  was  sighted  the  following 
day,  and  then  anchors  were  unbent  and  all  harbour 
gear  stowed  away  for  the  long  voyage.  Madeira  was 
sighted  on  the  i4th  of  that  month — not  a  bad 
passage  for  a  sailing  ship — and  on  the  4th  of  April 
the  Equator  was  passed,  where  the  usual  ceremonies 
of  crossing  the  line  were  undergone.  ;<  It  being  my 
own  and  Newton's  [a  young  messmate's]  first  trip 
into  Neptune's  dominions,  we  underwent  the  accus- 
tomed and  awful  ordeal  of  shaving  by  the  hands  of 
his  Majesty's  barber,  thereby  rendering  us  free 
mariners  of  the  ocean."  On  24th  April  they  were 
off  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  and  on  2  ist  June  sighted 
Ceylon,  and  three  days  later  arriving  at  Madras, 
:'  Found  Admiral  Rainier's  squadron  riding  here, 
consisting  of  eight  sail.  Shortly  afterwards  a  sham 
fight  took  place  with  the  fleet  and  shore,  followed  by 
a  grand  illumination  displayed  from  ships  as  well  as 
the  shore,  likewise  fireworks  and  rockets,  in  com- 
memoration of  the  Peace  of  Amiens." 

The  Marquis  Wellesley  left  Madras  again  in 
February  1803,  after  visiting  ports  on  the  coast,  and 


206  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

in  July  fell  in  with  an  American  bound  from  Gib- 
raltar to  Boston,  and  learned  from  her  that  war  had 
been  declared  between  England  and  France,  so 
cartridges  were  filled  and  every  preparation  made  on 
board  the  East  Indiaman  for  defending  herself.  On 
the  nineteenth  of  that  month  a  strange  sail  appeared. 
The  Indiaman  made  her  private  signal,  but  the 
stranger  did  not  answer  and  sailed  away.  But  at 
midnight  she  returned  and  was  coming  up  fast,  so 
the  Indiaman  at  once  prepared  for  action,  Addison 
acting  as  powder-monkey.  But  presently  she  was 
found  to  be  H.M.  frigate  Endymion,  and  sent  a  boat 
to  the  Indiaman  in  charge  of  a  lieutenant  and  pressed 
eight  of  the  merchant  ship's  men,  for  the  frigate  had 
captured  so  many  prizes  that  he  had  more  prisoners 
on  board  than  all  his  ship's  company.  But  before 
the  mouth  of  the  English  Channel  was  reached  the 
Marquis  Wellesley  was  to  have  further  exciting  ex- 
periences. A  few  days  after  the  previously  men- 
tioned incident,  two  ships  were  descried  one  morning 
while  the  people  were  at  breakfast.  At  first  Captain 
Mitchell  bore  up  to  assist  one  which  was  flying 
English  colours,  but  one  of  the  passengers  (appar- 
ently of  the  sea-lawyer  type  which  still  survives) 
protested  "  against  the  legal  propriety  of  such  pro- 
ceeding on  the  part  of  an  Indiaman  volunteering  her 
services  in  such  an  affair,"  so  Mitchell  put  his  ship 
again  on  her  course,  much  to  the  indignation  of  a 
choleric  colonel,  for  the  ship  with  the  English 
colours  was  subsequently  captured. 

Later  on  a  large  ship  hove  in  sight  on  the  weather 
bow  and  stood  down  towards  the  Marquis  Wellesley. 
It  was  now  night  and  the  latter  at  once  cleared  for 
action  and  showed  two  tiers  of  lights.  The  stranger 


AT  SEA  IN  THE  EAST  INDIAMEN         207 

was  hailed  seven  times  before  it  could  be  ascertained 
that  she  was  H.M.S.  Plantagenet  with  a  sloop-of-war 
as  tender  in  company.  Her  captain  came  on  board 
and  complimented  Captain  Mitchell  on  the  good 
arrangements  made  for  the  defence  of  the  ship,  and 
as  he  walked  round  the  decks  the  men  remained  at 
quarters.  He  was  good  enough  also  to  compliment 
Mitchell  on  the  clever  manner  in  which  he  had 
manoeuvred  his  ship  to  prevent  a  raking  broadside, 
but  before  leaving  he  "  impressed  a  few  hands  from 


us." 


On  the  ist  of  August  the  Indiaman  anchored  in 
the  Downs,  and  one  of  the  Company's  pilots  came 
aboard  and  took  charge  of  her,  bringing  with  him  a 
number  of  "  ticket-men  "  to  work  the  ship  up  the 
Thames.  These  were  men  who  were  sent  from  a 
man-of-war  in  place  of  such  as  had  been  impressed. 
On  the  third  of  the  month  the  ship  had  reached  her 
moorings  off  the  Gun  Wharf,  Deptford,  and  four 
days  later  discharged  the  ship's  company  and  hired 
gangs  to  deliver  the  cargo.  And  then  came  the  final, 
dramatic  touch  to  this  voyage  :  "  Shortly  afterwards 
found  that  Mr  White,  managing  owner  of  the 
Marquis  Welle  sley,  had  become  bankrupt  and  was 
unable  to  pay  the  ship's  company." 

Addison's  first  voyage  had  thus  begun  and  ended 
with  adventures.  He  had  got  back  in  the  summer 
of  1803  and  soon  began  to  prepare  for  a  second 
voyage.  Through  the  good  offices  of  his  friend 
Mr  Antrobus  he  once  more  obtained  a  berth  as  mid- 
shipman, this  time  in  the  Brunswick.  The  latter  was 
a  ship  of  1 200  charter  tons,  and  was  about  to  make 
her  sixth  voyage  out  to  Ceylon  and  China.  On 
being  introduced  to  Captain  James  Ludovic  Grant, 


208  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

the  latter  made  him  senior  midshipman  and  his  cox- 
swain, as  none  of  the  other  youngsters  had  yet  been 
to  sea.  The  midshipmen  were  allowed  a  cabin,  ser- 
vant and  every  comfort,  and  though  Captain  Grant 
was  regarded  as  a  martinet  and  disciplinarian,  yet 
he  was  by  no  means  unpopular  among  Addison's 
messmates,  "  supporting  his  mids  as  officers  and 
gentlemen.55  "  There  were  five  of  us;  two  were 
stationed  as  signal  midshipmen,  as  he  was  commo- 
dore; the  other  three  in  three  watches,  one  in  each. 
I  was  in  the  latter;  never  allowed  to  quit  the  lee  side 
of  the  quarter-deck,  except  on  duty  or  on  general 
occasions  of  reefing  or  furling.  Two  of  us  dined 
with  him  every  day,  and  nothing  could  exceed  his 
politeness  and  kindness  at  table.55 

Captain  Grant  had  served  as  midshipman  in  the 
Royal  Navy  in  the  Prince  George  with  the  Duke  of 
Clarence,  who  at  the  time  we  are  speaking  of  was 
now  George  III.  Grant  had  reached  the  rank  of 
lieutenant  in  the  navy,  and  was  serving  aboard  a 
frigate  in  the  West  Indies  in  the  year  1786.  The 
captain  died  and  then  it  was  decided  to  continue 
the  cruise,  Grant  as  first  lieutenant,  and  a  brother 
officer  named  Hugh  Lindsay  as  captain.  However, 
when  at  length  they  reached  England  their  conduct 
was  so  badly  criticised  that  they  had  to  resign  their 
commissions.  Both  officers  therefore  did  the  next 
best  thing  and  joined  the  East  India  Company5s 
service,  Grant  feeing  now  commander  of  the  Bruns- 
wick, whilst  Lindsay  had  the  Lady  Jane  Dundas,  a 
vessel  of  820  tons. 

During  the  month  of  February,  then,  the  Bruns- 
wick, having  taken  on  board  her  cargo  and  stores, 
dropped  down  the  Thames  to  the  Lower  Hope, 


AT  SEA  IN  THE  EAST  INDIAMEN        209 

where  she  received  on  board  passengers  and  the 
remainder  of  her  crew,  who  received  their  usual 
advance.  Colonel  Hatton  and  staff  of  the  King's 
66th  Regiment  came  on  board,  together  with  about 
350  privates  :  and  a  little  later  the  ship  sailed  to 
Portsmouth.  Here  she  remained  till  the  2Oth  of 
March,  when  she  came  out  of  harbour  and  ran  across 
to  the  Motherbank,  where  she  anchored.  Here  the 
whole  fleet  of  East  Indiamen,  together  with  their 
naval  convoy,  were  assembled.  This  consisted  of 
nine  ships — his  Majesty's  frigate  Lapwing,  and  the 
Company's  ships  Brunswick,  Marquis  of  Ely,  Addi- 
son's  former  ship  the  Marquis  of  Wellesley,  the 
Lady  Jane  Dundas  (Captain  Hon.  Hugh  Lindsay, 
Grant's  old  shipmate),  the  Marchioness  of  Exeter, 
the  Lord  Nelson,  the  Princess  Charlotte  and  the 
Canton.  The  captain  of  the  Marquis  Wellesley  was 
now  Charles  Le  Blanc,  who  had  been  "  chief  "  when 
Addison  first  went  to  sea. 

It  must  have  been  a  magnificent  sight  to  have 
witnessed  this  fine  fleet  getting  under  way  and  set- 
ting their  canvas  that  afternoon  at  a  signal  from  the 
frigate.  Under  close-reefed  topsails  they  ran  down 
the  Solent  and  past  the  Needles  with  a  fresh  breeze 
from  north  by  east.  Four  and  a  half  hours  after 
leaving  the  Motherbank  they  had  dropped  their 
pilot  in  the  English  Channel,  and  by  eleven  that 
night  they  were  nine  miles  off  the  Portland  lights, 
with  a  gale  working  up  and  thick,  hazy  weather. 
This  caused  the  fleet  to  be  scattered  and  topsails 
were  taken  in,  but  towards  morning  the  weather 
moderated.  Getting  into  the  north-east  trade-wind 
the  Brunswick  soon  reeled  off  the  miles,  though  the 
units  of  the  fleet  were  still  much  'dispersed,  thus 


210  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

making  it  much  easier  for  the  enemy  to  inflict  inj  ury 
if  met  with. 

On  the  7th  of  April  Addison  has  this  entry  in  his 
journal  :  — 

"  Trimmed  ship  by  the  head  with  200  pigs  of  lead. 
The  missing  ships  rejoined  the  convoy  with  two 
whalers.  On  a  Saturday  (weather  permitting)  con- 
stantly exercised  great  guns,  and  small  arms  fre- 
quently, with  powder  blank  cartridges.  My  station 
at  quarters  was  aide-de-camp  to  the  captain." 

And  then  there  are  several  instances  of  the  way 
discipline  was  maintained  on  board  in  those  days  of 


"  Qth.  John  McDonald,  seaman,  was  punished 
with  a  dozen  for  insolence  to  the  boatswain.  .  .  . 

"i2th.  Punished  T.  Botler,  seaman,  with  a  dozen 
for  neglect,  etc." 

On  the  following  day  the  frigate  parted  company 
with  the  fleet  to  return  to  England,  so  the  Brunswick 
became  commodore  ship.  On  the  23rd  of  June  the 
squadron  was  in  the  Mozambique  Passage,  and  at 
daylight  espied  a  strange  brig  to  the  south-east. 
Sail  was  therefore  made,  the  Lord  Nelson  having 
been  signalled  to  chase  with  the  Brunswick,  and  the 
Dundas  to  lead  the  fleet  on  a  north-east-by-north 
course.  At  7  A.M.  the  brig  tacked,  and  half-an-hour 
later  the  Brunswick  also  tacked.  At  eight  o'clock 
Grant  ordered  his  squadron  to  heave-to,  and  at  noon 
was  coming  up  fast  with  the  brig.  Half-an-hour 
later  he  had  reached  her  and  found  her  to  be  the 
French  La  Charlotte  of  four  guns  and  twenty-nine 
men.  She  had  left  the  Isle  de  France  twenty-eight 
days  previously  and  was  bound  for  the  Mozambique. 
She  was  now  a  prisoner,  and  Commodore  Grant 


PS        P* 


AT  SEA  IN  THE  EAST  INDIAMEN         211 

accordingly  sent  on  board  the  Brunswick's  second 
officer,  Mr  Benjamin  Bunn,  Addison,  five  seamen 
and  twenty  soldiers  in  the  cutter  to  take  possession 
of  her.  Her  captain,  a  lieutenant,  a  midshipman 
and  ten  seamen  were  brought  off  to  the  Brunswick, 
and  at  three  in  the  afternoon  the  brig  was  taken 
in  tow,  but  two  hours  later  she  was  cast  off.  Event- 
ually, after  the  captains  of  the  other  English  ships 
had  come  aboard  and  joined  in  a  consultation,  Grant 
decided  that  the  prize  was  not  worth  keeping.  So 
all  her  cargo  of  muskets  were  thrown  into  the  sea, 
and  afterwards  she  was  handejd  over  again  to  her 
French  captain,  who  went  aboard  her  with  his  men, 
very  thankful  to  be  allowed  to  take  possession  once 
more. 

About  the  middle  of  June  the  East  Indiamen 
reached  Trincomalee  and  saluted  H.M.S.  Centurion 
with  eleven  guns,  which  respect  was  returned.  But 
it  is  typical  of  the  time  that  the  following  day  a 
lieutenant  came  off  from  the  Centurion  and  pressed 
ten  of  the  Indiamen's  men,  and  a  little  later  three 
more  seamen  deserted  and  joined  H.M.S.  Sheerness. 
Having  disembarked  the  troops  and  baggage, 
assisted  by  the  boats  of  his  Majesty's  ships,  the 
Brunswick  once  more  put  to  sea,  and  two  days  later 
brought  up  in  Madras  Roads,  where  she  saluted  the 
fort  with  nine  guns,  and  received  a  similar  salute 
in  return.  Here  also  a  lieutenant  from  H.M.S. 
Wilhelmina  came  aboard  and  pressed  four  more 
men.  Here  the  Brunswick  remained  some  weeks, 
landing  the  Company's  cargo,  taking  on  board  cotton 
and  other  goods  for  Captain  Grant's  own  account — 
on  a  later  page  the  reader  will  learn  how  much  cargo 
a  captain  was  allowed  to  ship  for  himself — and  after 


212  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

the  vessel's  rigging  had  been  refitted,  and  her  hull 
painted,  she  prepared  for  sea. 

Meanwhile  the  Company's  ships  which  had  come 
out  with  her  bound  for  Bengal  had  sailed  to  the 
north,  but  on  the  I3th  of  August  H.M.  frigate  Caro- 
line, which  was  now  to  convoy  the  East  Indiamen 
bound  for  China,  made  the  signal  for  the  fleet  to 
unmoor,  and  then  proceeded  on  the  voyage.  The 
fleet  went  through  the  Singapore  Straits,  the  convoy 
being  kept  in  close  order  of  sailing  as  Admiral 
Linois  was  known  to  be  cruising  in  the  China  Sea. 
It  was  now  September,  and  the  reader  will  recollect 
that  in  February  of  that  year  his  squadron  had  been 
put  to  flight  by  Commodore  Dance.  The  East  India 
squadron  now  consisted  of  the  Company's  ships 
Brunswick,  Glatton,  Cirencester,  Walmer  Castle, 
Marquis  of  Ely,  Thames,  Canton,  Winchelsea,  ten 
country  ships,  and  convoyed  by  five  of  his  Majesty's 
ships — the  Caroline,  Grampus,  La  Dedaigneuse, 
Russell  and  Dasher,  the  first-mentioned  being  the 
commodore's  ship. 

Arrived  at  the  mouth  of  the  Tiger,  permission  was 
obtained  from  two  mandarins  to  pass,  as  was  the 
custom  in  those  days  when  China  was  still  so  little 
open  to  the  European.  And  the  way  the  fleet  was 
able  to  navigate  the  river  by  night  at  the  last  quarter 
of  the  flood  is  most  interesting.  Two  Chinese  pilots 
had  been  taken  on  board  the  Brunswick,  and  in 
order  to  denote  the  channel  across  the  bar  by  night 
a  row  of  fifty  boats  with  lights  was  placed  on  one 
side,  and  another  fifty  on  the  other,  the  ship  of 
course  to  sail  between.  When  the  Brunswick  was 
about  in  mid-channel  one  of  the  pilots  sang  out 
"  port  littee,"  while  the  other  contradicted  him  by 


AT  SEA  IN  THE  EAST  INDTAMEN        213 

shouting  "  starboard  littee."  Captain  Grant  was  not 
the  man  to  be  humbugged  in  this  manner,  so  he 
kicked  one  of  these  men  overboard,  and  the  other 
immediately  jumped  after.  The  lights  were  at  once 
put  out  and  the  Brunswick  grounded  on  the  bar. 
The  tide  soon  began  to  fall,  and  in  spite  of  carrying 
out  a  kedge  she  refused  to  budge.  So  the  top- 
gallant yards  and  masts  were  sent  down,  the  guns 
were  put  into  the  launches  which  were  sent  by  the 
other  ships  of  the  fleet,  and  eventually  next  day  the 
Brunswick  was  floated  at  high  water,  but  at  once 
swung  round  and  took  the  ground  again,  and  the 
tide  ebbed  out. 

In  order  to  lighten  her  forward,  the  bower  anchors 
were  made  fast  between  boats,  and  the  stream  anchor 
was  taken  out  in  the  launch  ready  for  the  next  flood, 
and  with  the  last  quarter  of  that  tide  she  came  off; 
the  hawsers  were  slipped,  and  while  the  anchors  were 
being  recovered  Captain  Grant  backed  and  rilled 
across  the  channel  and  finally  came  to  anchor  again. 

Addison  tells  us  of  an  interesting  custom  in  the 
Company's  service  at  that  time.  For  each  season  the 
senior  captain  was  allowed  £500  "  table  money," 
as  we  should  call  it,  for  public  dinners  an'd  various 
expenses,  the  second  captain  in  seniority  being 
allowed  ^300  for  the  same  purposes.  The  ships 
took  their  turn  to  act  as  guarHship,  naval  fashion, 
and  whichever  ship's  turn  it  was  so  to  act  on  a 
Sunday,  the  captain  was  to  attend  on  board  together 
with  his  surgeon.  And  during  the  whole  day,  up  till 
eight  o'clock  in  the  evening,  one  of -his  sworn  officers 
was  to  row  guard  up  and  down  the  fleet,  after  which 
he  was  to  make  his  report  to  the  senior  ship.  But 
when  the  viceroy  and  the  leading  Chinese  authorities 


214  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

made  their  visits  to  these  English  ships  in  state  they 
were  received  with  great  ceremony,  which  is  curi- 
ously absent  from  the  modern  merchant  ship. 

Many  hundred  local  craft  would  put  off  to  the 
East  Indiamen.  The  English  captains  were  on 
boarH  to  receive  them,  the  yards  were  manned  and 
every  possible  display  was  made.  An  officer  was 
first  sent  in  full  uniform  to  compliment  the  great 
man — John  Tuck,  as  the  English  sailor  nicknamed 
him,  owing  to  the  fact  that  in  the  fore  end  of  his  boat 
he  kept  gallows  to  tuck  up  any  unfortunate  who  dis- 
pleased him.  Having  come  alongside  the  East 
Indiaman,  the  great  man  always  refused  to  trust  his 
valuable  life  to  the  ropes  and  accommodations  sup- 
plied for  entering  the  ship,  but  used  his  own  long 
ladders.  Business  was  duly  contracted,  and  then  he 
would  make  a  present  to  the  ship's  company  of 
bullocks,  flour,  fruit  and  a  vile,  maddening  spirit  of 
a  most  intoxicating  nature,  which  the  men  were  made 
to  exchange  for  something  better.  After  this  the 
captains  all  dined  together  on  board  a  large  chop 
boat. 

The  fleet  remained  here  from  October  till  the  first 
day  of  1805,  and  then  got  under  way  with  fine 
cargoes  of  teas  for  England.  But  the  Brunswick 
never  reached  England.  Doubtless  owing  to  the 
damage  sustained  when  she  got  aground  on  the  bar 
she  developed  a  serious  leak,  and  made  for  Ceylon 
and  Bombay,  where  she  was  docked  and  repaired, 
her  tea  being  sent  to  England  in  another  ship.  The 
Brunswick  was  now  sent  back  to  China  again  with  a 
cargo  of  cotton,  which  would  have  been  a  very  lucra- 
tive affair.  But  there  was  a  good  deal  of  trouble  with 
the  crew,  many  of  the  men  deserting  to  the  warships, 


AT  SEA  IN  THE  EAST  INDIAMEN        215 

until  at  last  Captain  Grant  sent  every  man  he  had  in 
the  launch  on  board  a  British  frigate.  The  latter5  s 
captain  selected  from  these  all  that  were  worth  hav- 
ing and  then  sent  the  rest  back  to  the  Brunswick. 

When  the  latter  set  sail  from  Bombay  for  China 
on  ist  July  1805  she  was  very  ill-manned,  conse- 
quent on  nearly  the  whole  of  the  ship's  company 
having  been  pressed  by  the  navy.  There  were  not 
twenty  European  seamen  on  board  to  work  this  big 
ship.  The  guns  had  to  be  manned  by  Chinamen, 
with  only  one  European  seaman  at  each.  For  the 
rest  lascars  had  to  be  relied  upon.  In  such  a  weak 
condition  she  put  to  sea,  together  with  a  couple  of 
country  ships,  keeping  as  near  each  other  as  possible. 
But  a  few  days  later  at  break  of  day  two  strange  sail 
were  discovered  to  the  eastward.  The  Sarah  made 
a  signal  that  the  strangers  looked  suspicious.  Later 
on  the  Brunswick  perceived  that  one  was  a  line-of- 
battle  ship  and  the  other  a  frigate.  But  the  Sarah 
signalled  that  she  thought  they  were  friends.  How- 
ever, the  Brunswick  was  much  less  credulous  and 
had  already  cleared  for  action,  hoisting  her  private 
signal  (which  was  not  answered)  and  hoisting  her 
British  colours.  The  stranger  presently  answered  by 
showing  St  George's  colours.  The  line-of-battle 
ship  then  tacked  in  order  to  get  into  such  a  position 
as  to  rake  the  Brunswick  from  aft.  The  frigate 
passed  to  leeward  and  exchanged  St  George's 
colours  for  the  French  national  colours,  giving  the 
Brunswick  a  broadside  as  she  passed.  This  was 
immediately  returned,  but  as  the  ship  was  heeling 
over  at  a  great  angle,  the  lee  guns  could  not  be 
elevated  sufficiently  to  do  any  damage  to  the  enemy. 

But    the    Brunswick    was    clearly    to    be    out- 


216  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

manoeuvred.  The  frigate  went  about  just  astern  of 
the  Indiaman,  and  as  she  was  then  observed  to  be 
coming  on  fast,  Captain  Grant  kept  his  ship  as  full 
as  possible,  hoping  to  be  able  to  run  her  ashore. 
The  frigate,  however,  approached  at  such  a  pace, 
and  the  line-of-battle  ship  was  also  so  close  that  the 
Brunswick  would  assuredly  have  been  sunk  by  the 
line-of-battle  ship's  broadside  before  taking  the 
ground.  After  consultation  with  his  officers  Grant 
was  reluctantly  compelled  to  strike  his  colours  and 
surrender  to  the  enemy  off  the  coast  of  Ceylon.  A 
boat  came  off — and  then,  well  the  line-of-battle  ship 
was  none  other  than  Admiral  Linois'  Marengo,  and 
the  big  frigate  was  the  'Belle  Poule,  which  had  fought 
and  run  away  the  previous  year  from  Commodore 
Dance.  Linois  was  stationed  in  those  Eastern  waters 
for  the  express  purpose  of  harassing  and  cutting  up 
our  trade,  avoiding  the  British  ships-of-war.  Any 
modern  strategist  would  tell  you  that  whilst  this  kind 
of  hostility  is  very  annoying  to  the  power  attacked, 
it  cannot  afford  any  lasting  good.  The  same  kind  of 
folly  was  attempted,  you  will  remember,  by  the  Rus- 
sians interfering  with  Japanese  merchantmen  in  the 
East  during  the  late  war,  and  the  practical  value  of 
this  measure  was  nil. 

However,  Linois  may  have  remembered  that  he  who 
fights  and  runs  away  will  live  to  fight  another  day. 
He  had  been  compelled  to  fly  before  Dance,  but  this 
time  he  got  his  revenge.  You  may  ask  what  Eng- 
land was  doing  to  leave  those  seas  unpoliced.  The 
answer  is  that  as  a  matter  of  fact  Indiamen  had  to 
rely  on  naval  convoys  when  they  could  be  got,  and 
Rear-Admiral  Sir  Thomas  Troubridge,  who  had 
been  one  of  Nelson's  captains  at  the  Battle  of  the 


AT  SEA  IN  THE  EAST  INDIAMEN         217 

Nile,  was  actually  escorting,  in  H.M.S.  Blenheim, 
eleven  more  Indiamen.  The  two  courses  were  con- 
verging and  presently  we  shall  see  them  meet. 

Needless  to  say,  it  was  with  great  grief  that 
Captain  Grant,  all  his  officers  and  midshipmen 
(excepting  the  chief  officer  and  surgeon)  were  put  on 
board  the  Marengo,  whilst  the  frigate  went  in  pursuit 
of  the  Sarah.  The  latter,  however,  ran  herself  ashore 
with  all  sail  set,  but  the  crew  were  saved.  Admiral 
Linois  received  Captain  Grant  with  every  courtesy, 
and  the  Brunswick  was  ordered  to  a  rendezvous 
nearer  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope.  Before  the  month 
was  out,  when  a  fog  which  had  settled  down  lifted 
for  a  while,  the  Marengo  suddenly  found  herself 
close  to  a  large  convoy  of  Indiamen.  The  former 
instantly  cleared  for  action  and  firing  began.  It 
was  Troubridge  with  his  convoy  !  But  nothing  much 
came  of  this,  and  the  contending  forces  separated 
during  the  night.  To  cut  the  story  short,  Addison 
and  his  shipmates  were  landed  in  South  Africa, 
whence  they  were  taken  to  St  Helena  by  an 
American  brig.  From  there  they  reached  England 
in  a  British  frigate,  landing  at  Spithead,  and  so 
making  their  way  to  London.  As  for  the  poor  old 
Brunswick,  she  drove  ashore  on  the  South  African 
coast,  and  so  ended  her  days. 

If  Addison  had  been  unfortunate  in  the  ending  of 
his  first  voyage,  so  in  this  he  was  again  unlucky. 
"  According  to  the  Company's  law,"  he  writes  in  his 
journal,  "  having  been  captured  by  an  enemy,  or  the 
ship  in  any  way  wrecked  or  destroyed,  the  captain, 
officers  and  crew  forfeit  their  pay  and  wages,  con- 
sequently we  have  no  claim  upon  the  owners  of  the 
late  Brunswick  for  at  least  twenty  months'  hard  duty 


218  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

on  board  of  her."  However,  he  was  now  wedded  to 
the  sea,  and  the  next  time  he  went  in  his  first  ship, 
the  Marquis  Welle  sley,  as  fifth  mate,  with  Charles 
Le  Blanc  as  captain,  and  in  her  he  served  during 
the  following  years  till  he  went  as  second  mate  in 
another  of  the  Company's  ships.  I  make  no  apology 
to  the  reader  for  giving  so  much  detail  in  this  con- 
nection, for  Addison's  and  Eastwick's  accounts  tell 
us  just  those  intimate  details  which  show  the  risks 
of  many  sorts  which  had  to  be  encountered  in  the  old 
days  when  the  sailing  ship  was  still  far  from  per- 
fect, and  those  handsome,  fast  China  tea-clippers 
had  not  yet  come  into  being  to  startle  the  world  with 
their  record  runs.  No  doubt  the  captains  of  these 
East  Indiamen  of  which  we  are  speaking  were  often 
hated  by  their  men  for  their  severity  :  but  those 
were  no  kid-glove  days,  and  a  voyage  was  not  a  thing 
of  certainty  as  with  the  modern  liner,  which  main- 
tains a  punctuality  almost  equal  to  that  of  a  pas- 
senger train.  If  a  captain  retired  after  a  few  voyages 
with  a  nice  little  fortune,  he  certainly  deserved  it. 
For  he  was  a  long  time  before  he  reached  a  com- 
mand, and  there  was  scarcely  a  day  during  the  whole 
of  those  long  voyages  when  he  was  not  plunged  into 
some  sort  of  anxiety.  Anything  might  happen; 
from  having  his  sails  blown  out  of  his  ship  and 
carrying  away  his  best  spars  to  losing  the  ship  her- 
self, her  cargo,  her  men.  Every  force  seemed  to  be 
up  against  him — gales  of  wind,  uncharted  seas, 
coasts  and  rivers,  privateers,  warships  of  the  enemy  : 
even  the  warships  of  his  own  country  snatched  out 
of  his  vessel  his  best  men.  And  then,  to  add 
insult  to  injury,  he  came  home  to  find  either 
his  managing  owners  gone  bankrupt  or  a  by-law 


AT  SEA  IN  THE  EAST  INDIAMEN         219 

which  prevented  him  from  receiving  his  hard-earned 
pay. 

Yes,  taking  it  by  and  large,  he  'deserved  his  good 
luck  when  it  came  his  way ;  but  when  it  was  absent, 
he  did  his  best  and  more  for  the  British  capitalist 
and  merchant  princes  than  the  latter  ever  careU  to 
acknowledge.  In  the  history  of  Eastern  develop- 
ment and  civilisation  the  shipmaster  of  these  old 
Indiamen  ought  to  occupy  a  high  place  of  respect 
and  admiration.  He  has  left  behind  a  magnificent 
example  for  his  successors  to  follow. 

When  a  passenger  in  the  olden  days  joined  an 
East  Indiaman  as  she  lay  in  the  Downs  he  had  to 
be  rowed  off  by  one  of  the  Deal  boatmen.  These 
"  sharks  "  often  made  a  fine  thing  out  of  such 
passengers,  for  the  latter  were  completely  at  the 
mercy  of  the  former.  In  calm  weather  the  boatman 
was  willing  to  row  the  passenger  aboard  for  the  sum 
of  five  shillings  (or  more  if  he  could  get  it).  But  in 
the  case  of  'dirty  weather  and  the  nasty  lop  which 
gets  up  here  with  onshore  winds  the  passenger  had 
to  pay  as  much  as  three  guineas  and  sometimes  even 
five  :  it  was  all  a  question  of  bargaining  between 
himself  and  the  boatman.  Inasmuch  as  the  pas- 
senger had  to  get  aboard  the  big  ship  at  all  costs, 
and  since  the  only  method  possible  was  to  employ 
one  of  these  Deal  boatmen,  the  competition  was 
solely  between  the  boatmen  themselves.  But  these 
fellows  were  so  closely  bound  together,  owing  to 
the  ties  of  relationship  and  their  co-operation  in 
extensive  smuggling,  that  the  passenger  could 
scarcely  help  being  fleeced. 

Having  at  last  arrived  on  board,  weary  of  his 
coach  drive  from  London,  drenched  with  the  sea- 


220  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

spray  scooped  up  by  the  Deal  galley,  the  passenger 
bound  for  India  in  those  days  set  forth  with  not  the 
light  heart  and  eagerness  with  which  the  modern 
traveller  embarks  on  an  East-bound  liner.  If  con- 
temporary accounts  are  to  be  trusted,  the  mere  antici- 
pation was  a  kind  of  terrible  nightmare.  The  pas- 
senger often  enough  would  retire  at  once  to  his  cot, 
and  remain  there  for  days  prostrate  with  sea-sickness. 
The  cuddy  would  not  see  him  at  meals  until  the  Bay 
of  Biscay  had  been  passed  and  finer,  warmer  weather 
encountered.  Some  of  the  Company's  cadets  bound 
out  to  enter  this  corporation's  Indian  army  were 
utter  scamps,  and  the  only  way  to  get  them  out  of 
their  cots  was  to  cut  the  lanyards  which  kept  the 
latter  up.  Before  they  had  reached  the  Equator 
they  had  begun  to  find  their  sea-legs,  and  they  were 
compelled  to  take  part  in  the  usual  ceremonies  of 
crossing  the  line.  In  the  accompanying  illustration 
will  be  found  one  of  these  young  gentlemen  under- 
going this  initiation  in  one  of  the  East  Indiamen 
ships. 

These  ships,  because  of  their  bad  lines  and  clumsy 
proportions,  could  scarcely  rely  on  keeping  up  an 
average  of  more  than  three  or  four  knots  an  hour, 
and  their  performances  when  compared  with  the 
voyages  of  the  celebrated  clippers  in  the  mid- 
nineteenth  century  show  the  essential  difference  in 
the  capabilities  of  the  old  and  the  new  types  respec- 
tively. Let  the  following  table  show  how  slow  the 
old-time  craft  were.  The  reference  is  to  an  East 
Indiaman  which  left  the  Thames  in  1746,  and  after 
voyaging  to  the  East  arrived  off  Scotland  in  1748  : — 

Left  England,  September  20,  1746. 

Arrived  at  St  Helena,  December  25,  1746. 


AT  SEA  IN  THE  EAST  INDIAMEN        221 

Left  St  Helena,  January  14,  1747. 

Arrived  at  Batavia,  April  19,  1747. 
Left  Batavia,  June  9,  1747. 

Arrived  in  China,  July  8,  1747. 
Left  China,  January  12,  1748. 

Arrived  at  St  Helena,  April  4,  1748. 
Left  St  Helena,  April  25,  1748. 

Arrived  off  Scotland,  July  9,  1748. 

Even  one  of  the  Company's  own  ships — the 
Thames — which  was  not  as  fast  as  the  China  clippers 
presently  to  be  started  by  private  firms,  performed 
the  voyage  between  Canton  and  England  in  115 
days  a  little  time  before  the  East  India  Company 
lost  their  China  monopoly.  This  vessel  left  Canton 
on  1 8th  November  1831,  arrived  at  St  Helena  on 
28th  January  1832,  and  was  in  the  English  Channel 
on  the  following  i3th  March. 

An  anonymous  writer  who  flourished  about  the 
middle  of  the  eighteenth  century,  on  whose  authority 
the  details  of  the  length  of  voyages  have  been  given 
above,  has  left  us  a  detailed  account  of  a  voyage  to 
the  East  Indies  about  this  time.  I  need  not  try  the 
patience  of  the  reader  by  following  the  entire  journey, 
but  it  will  suffice  if  we,  so  to  speak,  voyage  with  this 
traveller  from  England  as  far  as  St  Helena.  The 
account,  which  is  written  with  great  restraint,  leaves 
the  reader  every  opportunity  to  imagine  the  dis- 
comforts and  trepidations  which  were  the  essential 
conditions  of  the  long  journey  to  the  Orient  in  those 
days. 

"  On  Thursday  the  3Oth  of  July  1746,  I  set  out 
from  London  for  Gravesend,  where  I  was  agreeably 
entertained  to  see  a  great  number  of  people  on  board 
the  vessel,  in  which  I  was  appointed  to  go  to  the 
East  Indies,  and  the  vast  preparations,  and  quan- 


222  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

titles  of  provisions,  on  board,  to  supply  the  neces- 
sities of  so  long  a  voyage. 

Next  day  several  young  people  came  on  board, 
inlisted  to  go  in  the  service  of  the  East  India  Com- 
pany, where  they  were  to  remain  for  the  space  of  five 
years  at  least.  .  .  . 

"  On  the  2d  of  August  we  weighed  anchor,  passed 
the  Nore,  saluted  the  Royal  Sovereign  with  nine 
guns,  and  came  to  an  anchor  in  the  Downs  on  the 
3d.  As  the  wind  was  variable,  we  were  obliged  to 
come  to  an  anchor  every  now  and  then.  On  the  5th, 
at  night,  we  passed  Dungeness  lighthouse,  and,  on 
the  8th,  anchored  in  St  Helen's  road  [Isle  of 
Wight]. 

"  On  the  loth  we  received  on  board  our  treasure 
from  Portsmouth,  and,  among  the  rest,  a  fine  large 
stone-horse,  designed  as  a  present  from  the  Com- 
pany to  the  Sultan  of  Benjar,  an  Indian  Prince  on 
the  island  of  Borneo.  After  taking  in  more  fresh 
provisions,  we  weighed  anchor,  and  made  the  best 
of  our  way  towards  Plymouth.  On  the  29th  we 
came  to  an  anchor  in  Cawson  [Cawsand]  Bay, 
where,  not  caring  to  break  upon  our  store,  we  sent 
our  long-boat  ashore  for  fresh  water.  Here  we  were 
to  wait  for  a  convoy.  We  were  supplied  at  this  place 
with  plenty  of  bread,  fish,  etc.,  in  small  boats,  rowed 
by  a  parcel  of  the  stoutest  and  most  masculine 
women  I  ever  saw. 

"  On  the  5th  of  September  we  had  very  thick 
weather,  with  hard  gales  of  wind  from  S.W.  so 
that  we  were  obliged  to  lower  our  fore  and  main 
yards,  and  give  great  scope  of  cable,  and  even  to 
strike  our  topmasts. 

"  On  the  6th  in  the  morning  the  weather  abated; 


AT  SEA  IN  THE  EAST  INDIAMEN        223 

but,  in  the  evening  of  that  day,  it  blowed  very  hard. 
We  heard  the  Norfolk  fire  several  guns  as  signals 
of  distress.  She  had  parted  her  cable,  and  had  run 
adrift  before  it  was  discovered  :  and  she  was  obliged 
to  anchor  within  the  beacon,  on  the  east  side  of  the 
Sound,  in  foul  and  rocky  ground.  But,  by  the 
assistance  of  some  of  the  men  of  war,  she  was  again 
brought  to  an  anchor  in  Cawson  Bay. 

"  From  the  7th  to  the  i6th  we  were  employed  in 
putting  everything  in  order  aboard,  and,  on  the  1 7th, 
the  Mermaid  man  of  war  was  appointed  our  convoy, 
and  gave  a  signal  for  unmooring  the  same  night. 

"  On  Sunday  the  2oth  of  September  we  got  under 
sail,  the  wind  at  NNE.  When  at  sea,  we  cleared 
our  ship  fore  and  aft,  and  exercised  our  great  guns 
and  small  arms.  .  .  . 

"  On  the  27th  we  parted  with  our  convoy,  and 
made  the  best  of  our  way  for  the  island  of  St  Helena, 
for  which  we  had  several  stores  on  board." 

And  so  they  proceeded  on  their  journey  to  the 
south.  On  Qth  October,  when  in  lat.  37°  32'  N.,  and 
long.  22°  1 6',  "  we  were  now  beginning  to  feel  the 
hot  climate,  so  that  the  allowance  of  water,  with  the 
greatest  economy,  was  little  enough  to  quench  thirst. 
We  put  an  awning  on  the  quarter-deck,  to  keep  off 
the  scorching  heat  of  the  sun." 

As  to  the  kind  of  shipmates  this  traveller  had,  the 
following  statement  is  sufficiently  illustrative  : — 

"  We  could  hardly  put  a  stop  to  the  frequent 
thefts  that  were  committed  by  the  soldiers,  though 
every  day  one  or  two  of  them  were  tied  to  the 
shrouds,  and  severely  whipt.  It  is  indeed  the  less  to 
be  wondered  at,  as  these  wretches,  who  go  as  soldiers 
in  the  company's  service,  are  for  the  most  part  the 


224  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

scum  of  the  three  kingdoms,  and  generally  go  to 
India  to  screen  themselves  from  justice  at  home. 
By  their  laziness  and  inactivity,  they  were  over-run 
with  vermine,  and  began  to  complain  of  swellings 
in  their  legs,  soreness  in  their  bones,  and  other 
symptoms  of  the  scurvy.  To  prevent  their  infecting 
the  ship's  company,  they  were  brought  up  on  deck, 
put  into  a  large  vessel  of  hot  water,  brushed  with 
scrubbing  brushes,  and  all  their  clothes  and  bedding 
thrown  over-board.  .  .  . 

"  On  the  2d  of  December,  we  had  a  large  swelling 
sea,  with  easterly  winds.  At  five  in  the  morning  we 
were  surprised  with  a  large  waterspout,  within  three 
ships-length  of  our  starboard-side.  It  had  no  sooner 
passed  our  ship,  than  a  sudden  puff  of  wind  laid  us 
gunwale  to,  which  was  over  before  we  could  lower 
our  sails.  We  had  frequent  dewfalls  in  the  night, 
which  are  very  dangerous,  and  often  mortal,  if  they 
happen  to  rest  on  the  naked  breast  or  body  of  a  man, 
while  asleep  on  the  deck.  A  great  deal  of  our  salted 
pork  was  so  rotten,  that  we  threw  several  casks  of  it 
over-board. 

"  On  the  1 7th,  had  cloudy  weather,  employed  our 
cooper  to  set  up  all  the  water-casks,  which  we  had 
knocked  down  as  soon  as  they  were  empty,  for  the 
sake  of  room. 

"  The  22d,  we  kept  a  good  look-out  for  St  Helena, 
and  found  ourselves  to  be  in  Lat.  16°  6',  and,  on  the 
23d,  we  observed  several  pigeons  flying  about  the 
ship,  a  sure  indication  that  we  were  near  land." 
This  island  they  eventually  sighted  the  following 
morning,  and  arriving  off  the  fort  saluted  the 
Governor  with  nine  guns,  everyone  in  the  ship  being 
heartily  relieved  to  see  land  once  more.  It  should  be 


s« 


W   CO 

S  5°' 


K  °Q       2 

is  * 

^  cc 

^5     I 

Is  I 


—  O 

OQ  O 


AT  SEA  IN  THE  EAST  INDIAMEN        225 

recollected  of  course  that  St  Helena  had  long  been 
in  the  possession  of  the  East  India  Company,  and 
its  geographical  position  was  of  great  convenience  to 
the  ships  bound  to  or  from  the  Orient,  giving  oppor- 
tunities for  obtaining  fresh  supplies  and  drinking 
water.  The  illustration  which  is  here  reproduce*! 
shows  the  appearance  of  St  Helena  at  the  time  of 
which  we  are  speaking,  together  with  a  contemporary 
East  Indiaman  lying  at  anchor. 

Such,  then,  is  the  kind  of  life  which  had  to  be 
endured  on  board  these  vessels,  depicted  as  we  have 
shown  by  men  of  entirely  different  interests  and 
tastes — the  captain,  the  midshipman  and  the  pas 
senger.  But  if  these  voyages  were  unpleasant  and 
even  risky,  it  is  to  them  and  the  determination  of 
those  on  board  that  the  wealth  of  the  East  India 
Company  was  due,  and  the  fortunes  of  so  many 
private  individuals  as  well.  Ocean  travel  in  those  days 
was  not  pleasure,  but  a  long-drawn-out  martyrdom, 
except  for  a  very  few  and  in  exceptional  weather. 
To-day,  even  the  worst-appointed  liner  would  seem 
luxurious  to  the  voyager  of  the  eighteenth  century, 
although  more  comfortable  deep-sea  ships  were  not 
to  be  found  than  those  which  flew  the  naval  pennant 
of  the  Honourable  East  India  Company. 


CHAPTER    XVI 

CONDITIONS    OF    SERVICE 

WE  have  seen  something  of  the  lives  of  the  officers 
and  men  in  the  Company's  ships  at  sea :  we  desire 
now  to  learn  more  of  their  conditions  of  employment 
— what  was  their  uniform,  what  were  their  rates  of 
pay,  privileges,  pensions  according  to  their  different 
ranks,  the  kind  of  accommodation  for  the  passengers, 
the  nature  of  their  cargoes,  and  so  on.  In  other 
words,  we  are  to  endeavour  to  fill  in  those  details 
of  the  picture  already  roughly  sketched. 

Dating  back  from  the  time  of  the  first  East  India 
Company,  the  commanders  were  always  sworn  into 
the  service.  So  likewise  were  the  first  four  officers. 
Before  being  allowed  to  proceed  to  his  duty  on 
board,  an  officer  had  to  sign  a  contract  for  perform- 
ing the  voyage,  and  a  petition  for  his  "  private 
trade  "  outwards.  As  the  latter  was  so  very  lucrative 
to  him,  it  may  be  well  to  give  details.  Particulars 
had  to  be  sent  in  this  petition  to  the  Committee  of 
Shipping  of  the  East  India  Company,  giving  the 
dead-weight  of  the  articles  they  proposed  to  take 
out  to  the  East.  These  consisted  of  almost  anything, 
from  wines  to  carriages.  This  "  private  "  trade 
allowed  to  the  commanders  and  officers  of  the  East 
India  ships,  allowing  them  to  participate  in  the  Com- 
pany's exclusive  monopoly,  did  not  permit  woollen 

226 


CONDITIONS  OF  SERVICE  227 

goods  and  warlike  stores,  but  otherwise  the  ship's 
officers  could  reap  a  fine  income  by  taking  out  Eng- 
lish goods  and  bringing  back  Eastern  products  which 
would  be  sure  of  a  market  at  home. 

There  was  a  proper  schedule,  and  the  following 
were  the  officers  and  petty  officers  enabled  to  avail 
themselves  of  this  privilege  : — Commander,  chief 
mate,  second  mate,  third  mate,  purser,  surgeon,  sur- 
geon's mate,  fourth  mate,  fifth  mate,  sixth  mate, 
boatswain,  gunner,  carpenter,  four  midshipmen,  one 
midshipman  (who  was  also  the  commander's  cox- 
swain), six  quartermasters,  commander's  steward, 
ship's  steward,  commander's  cook,  carpenter's  first 
mate,  caulker,  cooper,  armourer  and  sailmaker. 
Reckoned  for  a  ship  let  for  755  tons  and  upwards, 
the  commander  was  allowed  as  much  as  56  tons,  or 
20  feet  of  space,  for  all  articles  (excepting  liquors) 
which  weighed  more  than  they  measured  were 
reckoned  according  to  their  weight.  The  chief  mate 
was  allowed  eight  tons,  the  second  mate  six  tons, 
and  so  on  down  the  list,  even  a  midshipman  being 
allowed  a  ton,  the  purser  three  tons,  the  surgeon 
six,  and  each  quartermaster  as  much  as  a  midship- 
man. In  the  case  of  the  China  ships  only,  if  it  was 
not  practicable  to  invest  in  goods  to  the  following 
amounts  respectively,  the  Company  allowed  them  to 
carry  out  bullion  to  make  up  the  amount : — Com- 
mander, ^3000,  chief  mate,  ^300,  and  so  on  down 
to  carpenter,  ,£50. 

Homeward-bound  East  Indiamen  were  similarly 
allowed  privileges  to  their  officers.  Ships  lading 
from  India  might  not  bring  back  tea,  china-ware,  raw 
silk,  or  nankeen  cloth  :  and  ships  lading  from  China" 
might  not  bring  back  China  raw  silk,  musk,  camphor, 


228  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

arrack,  arsenic  or  other  poisonous  drugs.  But  other- 
wise the  commanders  of  China  ships  were  allowed 
homeward  38  tons,  the  chief  mate  8  tons,  the  second 
mate  6  tons,  and  so  on  down  to  the  carpenter  i  ton. 
But  the  other  homeward  ships  allowed  the  commander 
30  tons  or  thirty-two  feet,  the  chief  mate  6  tons  or  six- 
teen feet,  and  so  on  down  to  the  carpenter,  who  was 
allowed  thirty-two  feet.  These  importers,  of  course, 
had  to  pay  the  customs  and  also  three  per  cent,  to 
the  Company  for  warehouse  room  on  the  gross 
amount  at  the  sale  of  the  goods  in  the  case  of  Indian 
products,  and  a  bigger  percentage  in  the  case  of 
goods  from  China.  But  the  wily  old  commanders 
were  not  always  content  with  these  privileges.  The 
reader  is  doubtless  familiar  with  the  word  dunnage. 
This  consists  of  faggots,  boughs,  canes  or  other 
similar  articles,  which  are  laid  on  the  bottom  of  a 
ship's  hold  and  used  for  stowing  the  cargo  effec- 
tively. Now  when  it  was  found  that  there  was  a 
good  demand  in  London  for  Eastern  bamboos, 
ratans,  and  canes  a  commander  would  see  that  his 
dunnage  consisted  of  a  very  ample  amount  of  these 
realisable  articles,  and  far  beyond  what  was  neces- 
sary for  the  protection  of  the  cargo.  The  result  was 
that  the  Company  had  to  step  in  and  make  very 
strict  regulations  to  stop  this  abuse,  so  that  if  the 
dunnage  did  not  seem  absolutely  necessary  and  bona 
fide  it  was  charged  against  the  amount  of  tonnage 
allowed  to  the  commander  and  officers. 

Tea  was  allowed  to  be  brought  home  from  China 
and  Bencoolen  according  to  a  schedule,  the  captain 
being  allowed  as  much  as  9336  lb.,  down  to  the 
carpenter,  246  lb.,  but  a  big  percentage  was  charged 
on  its  sale  value.  Piece-goods  were  allowed  to  be 


CONDITIONS  OF  SERVICE  229 

brought  home  on  paying  the  customs  and  £$  per 
cent,  for  warehouse  room.  These  articles  were  dis- 
posed of  at  the  Company's  sales,  which  took  place 
in  March  and  September.  Although  the  importation 
of  china-ware  was  reserved  to  the  Company,  yet 
"  as  the  Company  do  not  at  present  import  any 
China-ware  on  their  own  account  "  they  allowed 
their  officers  to  do  so,  "  during  the  Court's  pleasure," 
provided  it  was  brought  as  a  flooring  to  the  teas 
and  did  not  exceed  thirteen  inches  in  height.  This 
made,  therefore,  another  source  of  revenue  to  the 
officers,  for  as  much  as  40  tons  of  this  ware  could  be 
permitted  in  the  i4OO-ton  ships  and  30  tons  in  a 
1200-tonner.  The  commander  could  also  bring  home 
two  pipes  of  Madeira  wine  in  addition  to  the  above 
allowances. 

When  outward  bound  the  chief,  second,  third, 
fourth  and  fifth  mates,  the  surgeon  and  his  mate, 
the  pursers,  boatswains,  gunners  and  carpenters 
were  allowed  as  indulgence  a  liberal  amount  of 
stores,  consisting  of  wine,  butter,  cheese,  groceries, 
pickles,  beer  and  also  spirits  for  the  respective 
messes.  In  the  case  of  "  extra  "  ships  the  com- 
manders and  officers  were  usually  allowed  5  per  cent, 
of  the  chartered  tonnage,  but  the  chief  mate  was 
always  allowed  three  tons,  the  second  mate  two,  the 
third  mate  one  ton,  and  the  surgeon  two.  The 
fourth  officers  and  pursers  in  these  ships  were  not 
acknowledged  in  this  respect.  As  regards  indul- 
gence in  stores,  the  chief  mate,  second  mate  and 
surgeon  were  allowed  the  same  amounts  as  in  the 
regular  ships  just  mentioned,  but  the  third  mate  was 
allowed  not  quite  so  much. 

On  the  whole,  it  will  be  seen  that  every  officer  and 


230 


THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 


petty  officer  of  an  East  Indiaman,  whether  trading 
to  India  or  China,  had  the  opportunity  of  putting 
by  very  handsome  perquisites,  and  so  you  can  now 
easily  believe  Eastwick's  statement  that  a  purser 
friend  of  his  had  retired  and  bought  a  ship  for  him- 
self. But,  of  course,  in  addition  to  all  these  "  privi- 
leges," everyone  received  his  salary  or  wages.  The 
following  is  a  list  of  the  monthly  pay  to  the  com- 
mander, officers,  petty  officers,  "  tradesmen  "  (i.e. 
coopers  and  the  like),  and  the  able-bodied  seamen, 
called  foremast  men.  It  will  be  found  that  this 
makes  up  a  complement  of  102  men,  such  as  were 
employed  in  one  of  the  big  regular  East  Indiamen. 
The  pay  in  the  case  of  "  extra  "  ships  will  be  given 
after  this  list  :  — 


MONTHLY  PAY  ON  BOARD  A 


Commander     .         .  ;£io     o         C 

Chief  Mate       . 

5     o 

C 

Second  Mate  . 

4    o 

C 

Third  Mate 

3  10 

C 

Fourth  Mate    . 

2    10 

6 

Fifth  Mate 

2      5 

Sixth  Mate 

2    5 

Si 

Surgeon  . 

5    ° 

A 

Purser 

2      O 

B 

Boatswain 

3  10 

B 

Gunner    . 

3  10 

P 

Master-at-Arms 

3    o 

2 

Carpenter 

4  10 

Midshipman        and 

I 

Coxswain 

2     5 

4  Midshipmen,  each 

2    5 

I 

Surgeon's  Mate 

3  10 

Caulker   . 

3  i5 

I 

Cooper    . 

3    o 

I 

Captain's  Cook 

3    5 

Ship's  Cook 

2    10 

I 

REGULAR  EAST  INDIAMAN 

Carpenter's  1st  Mate  ^3     5 

Carpenter's  2nd  Mate  2  10 

Caulker's  Mate         .  2  15 

Cooper's  Mate          .  2  10 

Quartermasters, 
each     .         .         .  2  10 
Sailmaker         .         .  2  IO 
Armourer         .         .  2  10 
Butcher  ...  2     5 
Baker       ...  2     5 
Poulterer          .         .  25 
Commander's  Ser- 
vants, each  .         .  15 
Chief  Mate's  Ser- 
vant    ...  I     o 
Second  Mate's  Ser- 
vant    .         .         .  o  18 
Surgeon's  Servant  o  15 
Boatswain's     Ser- 
vant    .         .         .  o  15 
I  Gunner's  Servant  .  o  15 


CONDITIONS  OF  SERVICE  231 

MONTHLY  PAY,  ETC. — continued 

Captain's  Steward    .     £2  o  I     Carpenter's    Ser- 

Ship's  Steward          .         2  10  vant     .         .         .     £Q  15 

2  Boatswain's  Mates,  50    Foremast    Men, 

each     .         .         .         2  10  each     ...         2     5 

2  Gunner's  Mates,  each     2  10 

In  the  case  of  an  "extra  "  ship  the  commander 
received  £10  a  month,  the  chief  mate  ^5,  the 
second  mate  ^4,  the  third  mate  ^3,  ios.,  the  sur- 
geon ;£5,  the  boatswain  ^3,  ios.,  the  gunner 
^3,  ios.,  the  carpenter  ^4,  ios.,  the  two  midship- 
men were  paid  £2,  53.  each,  the  cooper  and  steward 
got  ^3,  the  captain's  cook  ^3,  55.,  the  ship's 
cook  £2,  ios.,  the  boatswain's  mate  and  the 
gunner's  mate  were  each  paid  £2,  ios.,  the 
carpenter's  mate  and  caulker  £3,  155.,  the  two 
quartermasters  received  each  £2,  ios.,  the 
two  commander's  servants  £i,  53.  each,  and  the 
thirty  foremast  men  £2,  55.  each.  As  to  the  last- 
mentioned,  a  vessel  of  from  400  to  500  tons  carried 
twenty  foremast  hands.  A  ship  of  500  to  550  had 
thirty  hands,  and  the  next  size,  from  550  to  600  tons, 
carried  thirty-five.  A  600  to  650  tonner  had  forty 
men,  and  a  650  to  700  tonner  forty-five  men.  But 
a  700  to  800  ton  ship  had  fifty-five  men,  and  an 
800  to  900  tonner  sixty-five  of  these  hands.  The 
Company's  rule  was  that  regular  vessels  of  750  to 
800  tons  were  to  carry  a  total  complement  of  101 
officers  and  men.  A  goo-ton  ship  was  to  carry  no 
men,  a  looo-ton  ship  120  men,  a  noo-ton  ship  125 
men,  and  a  i2OO-tonner  130  men. 

Five  supernumeraries  were  allowed  to  be  carried, 
of  whom  two  were  to  be  allowed  to  walk  the  quarter- 
deck. No  commander  was  allowed  to  increase  the 


232  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

number  of  midshipmen  under  pain  of  being  sus- 
pended for  three  years.  This  was  to  prevent  him 
from  taking  a  raw  young  officer  out  of  consideration 
for  a  monetary  reward.  In  order  to  act  as  a  safe- 
guard, if  any  person  borne  on  the  ship's  books  as 
part  of  her  complement  were  discharged  in  India, 
China  or  St  Helena  without  permission  of  the  Com- 
pany, or  if  the  commander  were  to  act  in  collusion 
and  allow  him  to  quit  his  vessel,  the  commander  was 
liable  to  a  fine  of  ,£300.  Nor  could  he  bring  home 
or  carry  out  any  passenger  or  person  without  the 
directors'  leave. 

Owing  to  the  fact  that  the  men  out  of  these  East 
Indiamen  were  so  frequently  pressed  into  the  British 
men-of-war  whilst  in  the  East,  it  was  often  enough 
necessary  to  ship  a  lot  of  lascars  in  order  to  get  the 
vessel  home  at  all.  But  these  feeble-bodied  men  were 
accustomed  only  to  voyages  of  short  duration,  and 
that  in  the  fine  weather  season.  They  could  not  bear 
the  cold,  neither  were  they  dependable  when  the 
East  Indiaman  had  to  defend  herself  against  a 
privateer,  pirate  or  enemy's  warship.  Ignorant  of 
the  English  language,  they  were  not  easy  to  handle. 
It  was  always  reckoned  that  eighty  or  ninety  of  them 
were  not  quite  the  equal  of  fifty  British  seamen,  and 
for  every  hundred  of  them  employed  four  British 
seamen  must  be  also.  It  was  the  India-built  ships 
which  were  manned  almost  exclusively  by  these 
lascars,  and  a  new  problem  arose,  for  these  fellows 
used  to  remain  behind  in  England,  where  their  con- 
dition became  piteous.  There  was  an  obligation  that 
these  lascars  were  always  to  be  sent  back  to  India, 
but  in  practice  many  of  them  "  are  turned  off  in 
London,  where  they  beg  and  perish."  So  wrote 


CONDITIONS  OF  SERVICE  283 

Macpherson  in  1812.  "  The  appearance  of  these 
miserable  creatures/'  he  remarked,  "  in  the  streets 
of  London  frequently  excites  the  indignation  of 
passengers  against  the  Company,  who,  they  suppose, 
bring  them  to  this  country  and  leave  them  destitute/' 
whereas,  in  reality,  these  Easterns  actually  preferred 
to  sink  into  degradation  in  our  land  rather  than 
return  to  their  own.  Many  of  them  never  reached 
England,  or,  if  they  did,  died  on  the  return  voyage  : 
for  the  bad  weather  off  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  and 
the  rigours  of  the  English  climate  caused  consider- 
able sickness  and  death. 

English  gentlemen  who  had  been  for  some  years 
under  the  Company  in  India,  either  in  a  civil  or 
military  capacity,  were  often  wont  to  bring  black 
servants  home  with  them,  and  after  these  servants 
had  been  some  time  in  England  they  were  dis- 
charged. The  result  was  that,  under  the  terms  of 
their  obligation,  the  Company  were  put  to  great 
expense  in  sending  them  back  to  their  native  country. 
It  was  with  a  view  to  protecting  themselves  from 
this  possibility  that  the  Company  used  to  cause  the 
master  of  such  a  servant  to  take  a  bond  in  India  as 
security  for  the  cost  of  returning  these  coloured 
people,  these  bonds  being  sent  to  the  commander 
of  the  ship  in  which  the  master  and  his  servant  was 
travelling  to  England.  Otherwise,  the  commander 
was  ordered  by  the  Company  to  refuse  to  have  the 
black  man  on  board. 

Before  an  officer  coulcT  become  commander  of  one 
of  the  Company's  ships  it  was  necessary  that  he 
should  be  twenty-five  years  old  and  have  performed 
a  voyage  to  and  from  India  or  China  in  the  Com- 
pany's regular  service  as  chief  or  second  mate,  or 


284  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

else  have  commanded  a  ship  in  the  extra  service. 
A  chief  mate  ha'd  to  be  twenty-three  years  old,  have 
voyaged  to  India  or  China  in  the  Company's  ser- 
vice as  second  or  third  mate.  A  second  mate  had  to 
be  twenty-two  years  old  and  have  made  a  similar 
voyage  as  third  mate.  To  become  a  third  mate  he 
had  to  be  aged  twenty-one  and  been  two  voyages 
in  the  Company's  service  to  and  from  India  or 
China.  A  fourth  mate  had  to  be  twenty  years  old 
an3  been  one  voyage  of  not  less  than  twenty  months 
to  India  or  China  and  back  in  the  Company's  service, 
and  one  year  in  actual  service  in  any  other  employ, 
and  of  the  latter  he  had  to  produce  satisfactory 
certificates. 

In  the  case  of  the  extra  ships  the  commander  had 
to  be  twenty-three  years  old  at  least,  have  made 
three  voyages  to  India  or  China  and  back  in  the 
Company's  service,  one  of  which  must  have  been  as 
chief  or  second  mate  in  a  regular  ship,  or  as  chief 
mate  in  an  extra  ship.  The  chief  mate  must  be  at 
least  twenty-two,  and  have  made  two  of  these  voy- 
ages as  officer  in  the  Company's  regular  service. 
The  second  mate  had  to  be  at  least  twenty-one  and 
have  performed  two  voyages  as  officer  in  the  Com- 
pany's service  to  India  or  China  and  back.  The 
third  mate  must  be  twenty  years  and  been  one  voyage 
in  the  Company's  service,  or  two  voyages  as  mid- 
shipman in  the  extra  service. 

It  would  not  be  untrue  to  say  that  officers  of  the 
early  part  of  the  nineteenth  century  in  this  service 
were  excellent  seamen  and  fair  navigators,  but  many 
of  them  would  not  be  sufficiently  expert  in  naviga- 
tion nowadays  to  have  entrusted  to  them  the  work 
and  responsibilities  commensurate  with  those  with 


CONDITIONS  OF  SERVICE  285 

which  they  were  charged.  It  was  in  the  year  1804 
that  the  Company  issued  the  following  regulation  : — 

"  That  such  of  the  officers  as  have  not  been  already 
instructed  in  the  method  of  finding  the  longitude  of 
a  ship  at  sea,  by  lunar  observations,  do  immediately 
perfect  themselves  under  Mr  Lawrence  Gwynne,  at 
Christ's  Hospital,  previous  to  their  attending  the 
Committee  to  be  examined  for  their  respective 
stations ;  and  that  they  do  produce  to  the  Committee 
a  certificate  from  that  gentleman  of  their  being  quali- 
fied in  the  method." 

And  within  six  weeks  after  each  ship  had  arrived 
home,  the  commander  and  officers  had  to  attend  a 
Committee  of  the  Company  which  dealt  with  the 
reasons  for  any  deviation  which  the  ship  might  have 
made  during  the  voyage. 

As  touching  the  accommodation  in  these  ships,  the 
officers  had  canvas  berths  only,  laced  down  to  battens 
on  the  deck,  with  upright  stanchions,  a  cross-piece, 
and  a  small  door,  with  canvas  panels,  the  canvas 
being  capable  of  being  rolled  up.  On  the  gun-deck 
the  chief  mate's  berth  was  on  the  starboard  side  from 
the  fore  part  of  the  aftermost  port,  to  the  fore  part 
of  the  second  port  from  aft,  the  space  being  eight 
feet  broad.  The  second  mate  was  located  on  the 
opposite  side  to  correspond,  but  his  space  was  six 
inches  narrower.  Between  the  second  and  third  ports 
two  similar  berths,  each  six  feet  long  and  seven  feet 
broad,  were  fitted  up  for  the  third  and  fourth  mates  : 
and  two  more  for  the  purser  and  surgeon  between  the 
third  and  fourth  ports.  Two  others,  slightly  smaller 
still,  were  located  between  the  ports  on  this  deck  for 
the  boatswain  and  carpenter.  And  no  alteration 
from  this  was  allowed  to  be  made  during  the  voyage. 


286  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

The  captain's  "  great  cabin  "  was  in  the  steerage, 
and  he  was  forbidden  to  partition  it  off  in  any  way 
without  special  orders  from  the  Company.  When  a 
ship  went  into  action,  those  canvas  berths  or  cabins 
of  the  officers  just  alluded  to  were  taken  down.  The 
reader  will  recollect  the  capture  some  pages  back 
of  the  Brunswick  by  the  Mar  en  go.  Addison  in  his 
journal  mentions  that  when  he  and  his  fellow-officers 
were  taken  on  board  the  latter  they  were  marched 
below  to  the  ward-room.  He  then  adds  that,  "  being 
cleared  for  action,  the  cabins  were  all  'down,  and  the 
whole  deck  clear  fore  and  aft,  open  to  the  seamen." 

The  full  uniform  for  the  commander  of  one  of  the 
Company's  ships  was  as  follows  : — Fine  blue  coat, 
black  Genoa  velvet  round  the  cuffs,  four  holes  by 
two's,  three  outside,  one  inside.  Black  velvet  lapels, 
with  ten  holes  by  two's.  Black  velvet  panteen  cape, 
with  one  hole  on  each  side,  straight  flaps,  with  four 
holes  by  two's.  The  fore  parts  were  lined  with  buff 
silk  serge,  black  slit  and  turns  faced  with  the  same. 
One  button  on  each  hip,  and  one  at  the  bottom.  The 
buttonholes  were  gold  embroidered  throughout  and 
gilt  buttons  with  the  Company's  crest.  The  chief 
mate  wore  a  blue  coat  with  black  velvet  lapels,  cuffs 
and  collar,  with  one  small  button  to  each  cuff.  The 
buttons  gilt,  with  the  Company's  crest.  The  second, 
third  and  fourth  mates'  uniforms  were  similar  to  that 
of  the  chief  mate,  except  that  the  second  had  two 
small  buttons  on  each  cuff,  the  third  had  three,  and 
the  fourth  had  four. 

In  the  extra  ships  the  commander  wore  a  blue 
coat  with  black  velvet  lapels,  cuffs  and  collar,  with 
only  one  embroidered  buttonhole  on  each  cuff,  and 
on  each  side  of  the  collar.  His  buttons  were  gilt 


CONDITIONS  OF  SERVICE  237 

with  the  Company's  crest.  The  chief  mate's  uniform 
in  these  extra  ships  consisted  of  a  blue  coat,  single- 
breasted,  with  a  black  velvet  collar  and  cuffs,  and 
one  small  buttonhole  on  each  cuff,  with  gilt  buttons 
as  before.  The  second  and  third  mates.'  were  like 
this  with  the  difference  of  two  or  three  small  buttons 
on  each  cuff  as  mentioned.  And  it  was  strictly 
ordered  that  officers  were  always  to  appear  in  this 
uniform  whenever  they  attended  on  the  Court  of 
Directors,  their  Committees,  any  of  the  Presidents 
and  Councils  in  India,  or  at  St  Helena,  or  the  Select 
Committee  of  Supra-Cargoes  in  China. 

Some  of  the  officers  when  they  came  up  to  be 
sworn  in  before  the  Court  of  Directors  did  not 
always  appear  in  the  prescribed  uniform,  and  the 
Company  sent  out  a  warning  against  coming  into 
their  presence  in  boots,  black  breeches  and  stockings, 
except  in  the  case  of  deep  mourning.  When  appear- 
ing before  the  Court  of  Directors  the  officers  were 
compelled  to  wear  full  uniform,  but  when  attending 
the  Committee  they  were  to  wear  undress. 

Whenever  the  ship  dropped  down  from  Deptford 
or  Blackwall  to  Gravesend  the  captain  was  to  be 
on  board.  There  were  two  sets  of  pilots.  One  took 
the  ship  from  Deptford  or  Blackwall  to  Gravesend, 
and  another  took  her  from  Gravesend  to  the  Isle  of 
Wight.  Whilst  the  ship  lay  at  Gravesend  the  com- 
mander was  ordered  to  go  aboard  her  once  a  week  in 
order  to  report  her  condition  to  the  Committee. 
Before  sailing,  the  ship  took  on  board  a  sufficient 
amount  of  lime-juice  to  last  the  crew  through  the 
whole  voyage.  And  the  commander  had  strict  in- 
structions to  see  that  his  new  hands — "  recruits  >: 
the  Company  called  them — wore  the  clothes  which 


238  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

the  Company  provided,  and  that  the  men  did  not 
sell  them  for  liquor;  also  that  these  men  did  not 
desert.  For  this  reason  no  boats  were  allowed  to 
remain  alongside  the  ship  without  having  been  made 
fast  by  a  chain  and  lock — thus  preventing  any  pos- 
sibility of  the  men  escaping  to  the  shore.  No  boat 
was  allowed  to  put  off  from  the  ship  until  every 
person  in  her  had  been  examined,  lest  one  of  the 
crew  might  be  in  her.  And  a  quarter  watch  was  to 
be  kept  night  and  day  to  prevent  the  loss  of  recruits. 
If  any  did  desert,  then  the  commander  would  most 
probably  have  to  pay  the  cost  which  this  involved. 

During  the  course  of  every  watch  the  ship  was  to 
be  pumped  out,  and  entries  made  in  the  log.  And 
as  regards  divine  worship,  the  slackness  of  the  pre- 
vious period  mentioned  in  an  earlier  chapter  was  no 
longer  tolerated.  "  You  are  strictly  required  to  keep 
up  the  worship  of  Almighty  God  on  board  your  ship 
every  Sunday,  when  circumstances  will  admit,  and 
that  the  log-book  contain  the  reasons  for  the  omis- 
sion when  it  so  happens;  that  you  promote  good 
order  and  sobriety,  by  being  yourself  the  example, 
and  enforcing  it  in  others ;  and  that  you  be  humane 
and  attentive  to  the  welfare  of  those  under  your 
command,  the  Court  have  resolved  to  mulct  you  in 
the  sum  of  two  guineas  for  every  omission  of  men- 
tioning the  performance  of  divine  service,  or  assign- 
ing satisfactory  reasons  for  the  non-performance 
thereof  every  Sunday,  in  the  Company's  log-book." 

From  the  Company's  India  House  in  Leadenhall 
Street  the  commander  was  supplied  with  charts. 
These  had  to  be  returned  at  the  end  of  the  voyage, 
together  with  the  commander's  journals  and  track 
charts.  What  were  known  as  free  mariners  must  have 


CONDITIONS  OF  SERVICE  239 

performed  two  voyages  to  India  or  China  and  back  in 
the  Company's  ships,  or  else  have  used  the  sea  and 
been  in  actual  service  for  at  least  three  years.  The 
reader  is  aware  that  many  a  time  the  Company's 
ships  were  endangered  by  the  naval  authorities 
impressing  so  many  men  from  them.  At  last,  after 
many  protests,  the  Admiralty  instituted  a  new  regula- 
tion, so  that,  although  it  was  still  not  possible  to 
abolish  this  impressment,  yet  the  evil  so  far  as  the 
East  Indiamen  were  concerned  was  mitigated  and 
controlled.  A  letter  was  sent  to  the  Rear-Admiral 
of  the  Red  on  the  East  Indies  station  instructing 
him  to  order  his  captains  and  commanders  to  con- 
form to  this  new  regulation.  A  proper  scheme  was 
drawn  up,  showing  what  officers  and  men  in  East 
Indiamen  ships  of  varying  tonnages  were  to  be 
exempt  from  impress,  though  this  protection  applied 
only  until  the  ship  should  reach  Europe.  However, 
even  if  the  whole  exemption  could  not  be  obtained, 
a  portion  thereof  was  better  than  nothing  at  all, 
especially  as  the  Company  attributed  so  many  of  the 
losses  of  their  ships  to  having  been  deprived  of  their 
best  men. 

In  addition  to  their  wages,  the  men  became 
entitled  to  a  pension  from  what  was  known  as  the 
Poplar  Fund.  Any  commander,  officer  or  seaman, 
or  anyone  else  who  had  served  aboard  any  of  these 
East  Indiamen  for  eight  years  and  regularly  con- 
tributed to  this  fund  was  entitled  to  a  pension.  But 
if  a  man  had  been  wounded  or  maimed  so  as  to  be 
rendered  incapable  of  further  service  at  sea,  he 
could  still  be  admitted  to  a  pension  even  under 
eight  years.  The  size  of  the  pension  was  based  on 
the  amount  of  capital  which  the  officer  possessed. 


240  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

Thus,  if  a  commander  stated  that  he  was  not  worth 
^2500,  or  ^125  a  year,  he  received  a  pension  of 
;£ioo.  Similarly,  if  a  chief  mate  had  not  been  able 
to  amass  ^1300,  or  had  ^65  coming  in  every  year, 
he  was  granted  a  pension  of  £60.  And  so  the  scale 
descended  down  to  the  rank  of  midshipman,  who 
was  granted  a  £12  pension  if  he  was  not  worth 
^400,  or  £20  a  year.  Allowances  were  also  made 
for  the  widows  and  orphans  of  those  who  had  served 
the  Company  for  seven  years. 

Before  a  candidate  could  be  appointed  as  ship's 
surgeon,  those  who  had  already  made  one  voyage 
in  the  Company's  service,  or  acted  twelve  months 
in  that  capacity  in  his  Majesty's  service  in  a  hot 
climate  were  given  priority.  After  a  qualified  sur- 
geon had  served  in  one  of  the  extra  ships  for  one 
voyage  to  India  and  back  he  was  eligible  for  the 
regular  service.  Both  surgeon  and  a  surgeon's  mate 
had  to  produce  a  certificate  from  the  examiners  of 
the  Royal  College  of  Surgeons  and  also  from  the 
Company's  own  physician.  The  surgeons  were 
allowed,  in  addition  to  their  salary  and  their  privi- 
lege of  private  trade,  fifteen  shillings  per  man  on  the 
voyage  for  medicine  and  attendance  on  the  military 
and  invalids.  But  they  were  no  longer  required,  as 
part  of  their  duties,  to  cut  the  hair  of  the  Company's 
servants  !  The  assistant-surgeon  had  to  be  at  least 
twenty  years  old,  and  possess  a  diploma  from  the 
College  of  Surgeons  of  London,  Edinburgh  or 
Dublin,  and  a  certificate  from  the  Company's  own 
physician. 

The  gunner  and  his  mate  were  examined  as  to 
their  efficiency  by  the  Company's  master-attendant, 
who  after  approval  gave  them  a  certificate.  Volun- 


CONDITIONS  OF  SERVICE  241 

teers  for  the  Company's  Indian  Navy,  otherwise 
known  as  the  Bombay  Marine,  had  to  be  between 
the  ages  of  fourteen  and  eighteen;  for  their  cavalry 
and  infantry,  between  sixteen  and  twenty-two. 

To  many  passengers  this  voyage  to  the  East  was 
one  of  terror.  Eastwick  tells  a  yarn  about  an 
assistant-surgeon  in  one  of  these  ships.  For  five 
days  on  the  way  out  a  great  storm  had  been  raging. 
This  had  evidently  so  impressed  this  surgeon  that 
the  night  after  the  storm  abated  he  dreamt  that  there 
was  a  great  hole  in  the  ship's  side.  Jumping  out  of 
his  cot  with  alacrity,  he  knocked  over  the  water-jug, 
and  feeling  the  cold  water  about  his  toes  he  ran 
headlong  up  on  deck,  clamouring  that  the  ship  was 
sinking.  For  some  time  he  was  believed.  The 
carpenter  and  some  of  the  officers  hurried  to  his 
cabin,  and  meanwhile  the  passengers  had  become 
alarmed  and  left  their  cabins,  congregating  by  the 
boats.  The  story,  however,  does  not  give  the  re- 
marks of  the  carpenter  and  officers  when  they  found 
the  assistant-surgeon  had  been  romancing. 

The  passengers  in  these  ships  were  made  as  com- 
fortable as  possible,  though  they  had  to  pay  fairly 
heavily  for  the  same.  We  have  seen  that  they  were 
entertained  with  dances  whenever  possible.  They 
brought  with  them  on  board  their  servants,  their 
furniture  and  their  wines.  But  the  conduct  of  some 
of  these  passengers  became  so  highly  improper  at 
times  that  the  Company  found  it  necessary  to  frame 
regulations  for  the  preservation  of  good  order  on 
board,  and  these  had  to  be  enforced  strictly  by  the 
commander.  In  the  words  of  the  Court  of  Directors, 
they  bewailed  the  fact  that  "  the  good  order  and 
wholesome  practices,  formerly  observed  in  the  Com- 


242  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

pany's  ships,  have  been  laid  aside,  and  late  hours 
and  the  consequent  mischiefs  introduced,  by  which 
the  ship  has  been  endangered  and  the  decorum  and 
propriety,  which  should  be  maintained,  destroyed." 

One  of  the  great  terrors  on  board  these  vessels 
was  the  possibility  of  fire  at  sea.  We  shall  have  the 
account  presently  of  the  loss  of  the  Kent  East 
Indiaman  in  the  Bay  of  Biscay,  through  that  species 
of  disaster,  in  the  year  1825,  and  there  were  other 
instances.  It  was  in  order  to  guard  against  this  pos- 
sibility that  no  fire  was  allowed  to  be  kept  in  after 
eight  at  night  except  for  the  use  of  the  sick,  and 
then  only  in  a  stove.  Candles  had  to  be  extin- 
guished between  decks  by  nine  o'clock,  and  in  the 
cabins  by  ten  at  the  latest.  This  was  before  the 
days  when  ships  were  compelled  by  Act  of  Parlia- 
ment to  carry  sidelights.  In  fact,  just  as  in 
mediaeval  days  not  even  the  boatswain  was  allowed 
to  use  his  whistle,  nor  a  bell  to  be  sounded,  nor 
any  unnecessary  noise  made  after  dark,  lest  the 
ship's  presence  should  be  betrayed  to  any  pirate  in 
the  vicinity,  so  in  the  case  of  these  East  Indiamen, 
not  only  were  there  no  sidelights,  but  the  commander 
was  enjoined  that  the  utmost  precautions  be  used 
to  prevent  any  lights  'tween  decks  or  from  the  cabins 
being  visible  "  to  any  vessel  passing  in  the  night." 

The  passengers  used  to  dine  not  later  than  2  P.M. 
And  such  was  the  authority  of  the  captain  that  when 
he  retired  from  the  table  after  either  dinner  or 
supper,  the  passengers  and  officers  must  also  retire. 
The  captain  was  to  pay  due  attention  to  the  comfort- 
able accommodation  and  liberal  treatment  of  the 
passengers,  "  at  the  same  time  setting  them  an 
example  of  sobriety  and  decorum,  as  he  values  the 


fjf 


O       ^--. 


5    -- 

EH          £ 

1     I 


CONDITIONS  OF  SERVICE  243 

pleasure  of  the  Court."  Any  improper  conduct  of 
the  ship's  officers  towards  the  passengers  or  to  each 
other  was  to  be  reported  quietly  to  the  captain,  and 
the  decision  left  with  the  latter.  But  if  anyone 
thought  himself  aggrieved  thereby,  he  coulg!  appeal 
to  the  Governor  and  Council  of  the  first  of  the  Com- 
pany's settlements  at  which  the  ship  should  arrive, 
or,  if  homeward  bound,  to  the  Court  of  Directors. 

And  the  following  brief,  common-sense  paragraph 
summed  up  the  whole  situation  : — 

"  The  diversity  of  characters  and  dispositions 
which  must  meet  on  ship-board  makes  some  restraint 
upon  all  necessary;  and  any  one  offending  against 
good  manners,  or  known  usages  and  customs,  will, 
on  representation  to  the  Court,  be  severely  noticed." 

We  can  well  believe  that  those  military  officers  or 
civil  servants  of  the  Company  who  came  on  board 
homeward  bound,  after  spending  years  in  India 
without  benefit  to  their  livers  and  tempers,  if  to  their 
pecuniary  advantage,  and  were  as  ill-accustomed  to 
the  conditions  of  ship  life  as  they  were  bereft  of  an 
adaptable  spirit,  needed  all  the  tact  and  patience  of 
the  commander  and  ship's  officers  to  prevent  matters 
being  even  more  uncomfortable  than  they  were. 
Those  who  had  spent  their  lives  wielding  authority 
in  India,  and  both  honestly  and  otherwise  making 
fortunes,  were  not  the  kind  of  mortals  most  easy  to 
live  with  in  the  confined  area  of  a  ship  not  much 
over  1200  tons.  However,  every  passenger  who 
came  on  board  was  given  a  printed  copy  of  the 
regulations,  which  had  been  formed  for  the  good 
of  all,  and  they  were  told  very  pertinently  to  observe 
them  strictly,  and  the  captains  had  to  see  that  they 
did  as  they  were  told. 


244  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

Certainly  up  to  the  second  decade  of  the  nine- 
teenth century,  the  ships  themselves  also  were  in 
great  need  of  supervision,  as  to  their  construction, 
though  there  were  not  many  capable  critics  then  in 
existence.  All  the  Company's  ships  were  of  course 
built  of  wood,  but  iron  was  already  being  extensively 
used  for  the  knees.  The  idea  was  excellent,  but 
in  practice  inferior  material  was  actually  employed 
and  not  the  best  British  iron.  And  the  same  defect 
was  noticeable  with  regard  to  anchors  and  mooring 
chains.  Of  those  various  losses  which  occurred  to 
the  East  Indiaman  ships  about  the  year  1809,  it  was 
thought  by  some  that  the  cause  was  traceable  to  these 
weak  iron  knees  which  had  been  put  into  the  vessels. 
A  certain  Mr  J.  Braithwaite  wrote  a  letter  to  the  East 
India  Company  in  December  of  1809,  in  which  he 
stated  that  he  had  been  employed  to  recover  the 
property  of  the  Abergavenny,  which  had  been  lost 
off  Weymouth;  and  he  found,  on  breaking  up  the 
wreck,  that  many  of  the  iron  knees  were  broken, 
owing  to  having  been  made  of  such  poor,  inferior 
material.  This,  he  noticed,  snapped  quite  easily, 
and  he  was  convinced  that  ships  fitted  with  such 
knees  would,  on  encountering  gales  of  wind,  be  lost 
owing  to  the  knees  giving  way.  The  East  Indiaman 
Asia  was  thought  to  have  perished  owing  to  that 
reason. 

But  there  was  also  another  reason  why  the  ships 
of  this  period  were  unsatisfactory.  They  were  built 
not  under  cover  but  outside,  exposed  to  all  the 
weather.  But,  in  addition,  there  was  a  bad  practice 
at  that  time  which  unquestionably  caused  a  great 
deal  of  serious  injury  to  the  ship.  When  the  ship 
was  approaching  completion,  and  before  the  sheath- 


CONDITIONS  OF  SERVICE  245 

ing  had  been  put  on,  the  sides  and  floor  were  deluged 
with  water,  the  intention  being  to  see  if  there  were 
any  shake  in  the  plank,  or  butt  or  trenail  holes,  or 
if  any  of  the  seams  had  been  left  uncaulked.  If 
the  water  poured  through  anywhere  this  would  indi- 
cate that  there  was  need  for  caulking  before  the 
ship  was  set  afloat. 

This  was  all  very  well  in  theory,  but  in  practice 
it  was  very  bad  indeed,  for  the  water  thus  admitted 
settled  down  into  the  innermost  recesses,  and  the 
result  was  that  the  cargoes  were  always  more  or  less 
affected  injuriously  by  the  damp.  Similarly,  it 
injured  the  ship  herself,  and  dry-rot  eventually 
shortened  the  vessel's  life.  Damp,  badly  ventilated, 
these  old  East  Indiamen  were  frequently  the  source 
of  much  anxiety  to  their  managing  owners  or  "  ships' 
husbands,"  as  they  were  usually  called.  Then  there 
was  another  defect.  The  influence  of  the  Middle 
Ages  was  not  yet  departed  from  shipbuilding  :  con- 
sequently trenails  were  still  used.  This  meant  that 
the  ship  was  riddled  with  holes  for  the  insertion  of 
these  wooden  pegs.  Speaking  of  an  East  Indiaman 
of  this  time,  a  contemporary  says  that  thus  "  she 
appears  like  a  cullender,"  and  "  there  is  hardly  a 
space  of  six  inches  in  small  ships  that  is  not  bored 
through  "  by  a  trenail  of  one  and  a  half  inches  in 
diameter,  being  only  six  inches  apart  from  the  next 
trenail.  Thus,  of  course,  the  timbers  were  weakened, 
and  at  a  later  date  when  the  ship  needed  to  be 
re-bored  with  holes  for  more  trenails  on  the  renewal 
of  decayed  planking,  there  were  so  many  holes  in 
the  timbers  that  the  ship  was  very  considerably 
weakened  thereby. 

The  method  of  the  French  in  building  ships  had 


246  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

formerly  been  to  use  iron  fastenings,  but  the  plank 
grew  nail  sick,  and  the  iron  having  corroded  became 
very  weak.  Indian-built  ships,  however,  were  con- 
structed in  such  a  way  tHat  there  were  no  numerous 
series  of  holes  bored,  and  thus  the  hulls  remained 
strong  and  stout.  The  planking  was  secured  to  the 
timbers  by  spikes  and  bolts  of  iron,  yet — owing  to 
the  oleaginous  sap  of  the  teak  from  which  they  were 
built — the  iron  did  not  corrode  as  it  Hid  in  the  case 
of  oak-built  ships.  So  about  the  year  1810  the 
introduction  of  metal  nails  and  bolts  was  advocated 
in  connection  with  the  building  of  ships. 

After  the  Company  had  lost  their  China  monopoly 
the  class  of  ship  that  was  built  by  the  Greens,  for 
instance,  was  composed  of  oak,  greenheart  and  teak, 
and  excellently  constructed.  Mr  F.  T.  Bullen  has 
written  of  such  a  ship,  the  Lion,  which  was  launched 
in  1842  from  the  famous  Blackwall  yard.  He  tells 
us  that  this  was  the  finest  of  all  the  great  fleet  that 
had  been  brought  into  being  at  that  yard  up  to  this 
date  :  how,  decked  with  flags  from  stem  to  stern,  with 
the  sun  glinting  brightly  on  the  rampant  crimson 
lion  that  towered  proudly  on  high  from  her  stem,  she 
glided  down  the  way  amid  the  thunder  of  cannon 
and  the  cheers  of  the  spectators.  She  was  after- 
wards given  ten  i8-pounders,  with  many  muskets 
and  boarding-pikes  stowed  away  in  a  small  armoury 
in  the  waist.  This  famous  vessel,  so  characteristic 
of  the  best  type  of  East  Indiaman  which  succeeded 
the  Company's  ships,  was,  in  spite  of  her  great  size 
— as  she  was  then  regarded — far  handier  than  any  of 
those  "  billy-boys  "  which  used  to  be  such  a  feature 
of  the  Thames.  "  There  was  as  much  intriguing/' 
says  Mr  Bullen,  "  to  secure  a  berth  in  the  Lion  for 


CONDITIONS  OF  SERVICE  247 

the  outward  or  homeward  passage  as  there  was  in 
those  days  for  positions  in  the  golden  land  she 
traded  to.  Men  whose  work  in  India  was  done  spoke 
of  her  in  their  peaceful  retirement  on  leafy  English 
country-sides,  and  recalled  with  cronies  c  our  first 
passage  out  in  the  grand  old  Lion*  A  new  type  of 
ship,  a  new  method  of  propulsion,  was  springing  up 
all  round  her.  But  whenever  any  of  the  most  modern 
fliers  forgathered  with  her  upon  the  ocean  highway, 
their  crews  felt  their  spirits  rise  in  passionate  ad- 
miration for  the  stately  and  beautiful  old  craft  whose 
graceful  curves  and  perfect  ease  seemed  to  be  of 
the  sea  sui  generis,  moulded  and  caressed  by  the 
noble  element  into  something  of  its  own  mobility 
and  tenacious  power." 

Like  many  other  of  the  later-day  East  Indiamen, 
she  was  eventually  taken  off  the  route  to  India  and 
ran  to  Australia  with  emigrants.  With  her  quarter- 
galleries,  her  far-reaching  head,  her  great,  many- 
windowed  stern,  she  would  seem  a  curious  kind  of 
ship  among  twentieth-century  craft.  But  she  held 
her  own  even  with  the  new  steel  clippers,  and  made 
the  round  voyage  from  Melbourne  to  London  and 
back  in  five  months  and  twenty  days,  including  the 
time  taken  up  in  handling  the  two  cargoes,  finally 
being  sold  into  the  hands  of  the  Norwegians,  like 
many  another  fine  British  ship  both  before  and  since 
her  time.  The  last  act  of  her  eventful  life  came 
when  she  crashed  into  a  mountainous  iceberg  and 
smashed  herself  to  pieces.  It  was  a  sad  end  to  a 
ship  that  had  begun  so  gloriously. 


CHAPTER   XVII 

WAYS  AND  MEANS 

THERE  was  a  fixed  rate  of  passage-money,  and  it 
was  thought  necessary  to  forbid  the  captains  to 
charge  passengers  any  sum  above  that  specified  for 
their  rank.  These  were  the  respective  rates,  includ- 
ing the  passage  and  accommodation  at  the  captain's 
table. 

General  officers  in  the  Company's  service  were 
charged  for  the  passage  from  England  ^250, 
colonels  or  Gentlemen  of  Council  ^200,  while 
lieutenant-colonels,  majors,  senior  merchants,  junior 
merchants  and  factors  had  to  pay  ^150.  Captains 
were  charged  ^125.  Writers  in  the  Company's 
service  paid  £  1 10,  subalterns  the  same,  assistant- 
surgeons  and  cadets  ^95.  If  any  of  the  two  last 
mentioned  proceeded  to  India  in  the  third  mate's 
mess,  the  latter  was  not  to  demand  more  than  ^55 
for  the  passenger's  accommodation.  The  money 
was  paid  direct  to  the  paymaster  of  seamen's  wages 
at  his  pay  office  in  London,  who  handed  these  respec- 
tive sums  over  to  the  commander  or  third  mate.  In 
the  case  of  military  officers  who  were  in  his  Majesty's 
service  and  not  in  the  East  India  Company's  army, 
the  charges  were  slightly  different.  Thus  general 
officers  were  charged  ^235,  colonels  ^185, 
lieutenant-colonels  and  majors  ,£135,  captains  and 

248 


WAYS  AND  MEANS  249 

surgeons   £110,  subalterns  and  assistant-surgeons 
:^95,  for  the  voyage  out. 

For  the  homewar'd  voyage  the  commanders  of 
these  East  Indiamen  were  allowed  to  charge  2500 
rupees  from  Bombay  for  lieutenant-colonels  or 
majors,  2000  rupees  for  captains,  and  1500  rupees 
for  subalterns  when  returning  to  Europe,  either  on 
sick  certificate  or  military  duty,  whether  in  his 
Majesty's  or  the  Company's  service.  Regular  East 
Indiamen  were  bound,  if  asked,  to  receive  on  board 
at  least  two  of  the  above  officers,  and  in  this  case 
the  larboard  third  part  of  the  captain's  great  cabin, 
with  the  passage  to  the  quarter-gallery,  was  to  be 
apportioned  off  for  their  accommodation.  In  the 
case  of  an  extra  ship  one  such  officer  was  bounH  to 
He  carried  if  the  commander  were  requested,  and  he 
was  to  be  accommodated  with  a  cabin  on  the  star- 
board side,  abaft  the  chief  mate's  cabin,  and  abreast 
of  the  spirit-room.  His  cabin  was  to  be  not  less 
than  seven  feet  long  and  six  feet  wide.  If  the  whole 
of  one  of  his  Majesty's  regiments  were  returning  to 
England,  the  entire  accommodation  in  the  ship 
might  be  allotted  as  the  Government  in  India 
deemed  advisable,  the  sums  for  the  officers  being 
paid  to  the  commander  as  just  mentioned.  Factors 
and  writers  homeward  bound  from  Bombay  were 
charged  2000  and  1500  rupees  respectively. 

Under  no  circumstance  was  a  commander  allowed 
to  receive  any  gratuity  above  these  sums,  an'd  to  give 
effect  to  this  he  had  to  enter  into  a  bond  for  ^"looo 
before  being  sworn  in.  Similarly  the  third  mate  was 
equally  forbidden  to  exact  more  than  the  sums  men- 
tioned under  his  category. 

Some  idea  of  the  victuals  which  were  carried  on 


250  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

board  a  i2OO-ton  East  Indiaman  may  be  gathered 
from  the  following.  Recollect  that,  of  course,  there 
was  no  such  thing  as  preserved  foods  or  refrigerating 
machinery  in  those  days,  but  during  these  long  voy- 
ages the  passengers  and  crew  were  not  pampered 
with  the  luxuries  of  a  modern  liner.  The  accom- 
modation was  lighted  with  candles  and  oil-lamps, 
the  food  was  plain,  the  cooking  very  English.  Be- 
side the  amounts  which  an  Atlantic  liner  takes  on 
board  for  her  short  voyage  these  figures  seem  in- 
significant :  and  there  were  none  of  those  manifold 
articles  for  serving  up  the  food  in  an  appetising 
manner.  For  the  strong,  the  healthy  and  vigorous, 
this  plain,  substantial  living  was  all  right :  but  for 
invalids,  for  delicate  women,  and  for  children 
naturally  terrified  of  the  sea  and  unable  to  settle 
down  to  life  on  board,  the  voyage  was  certainly  not 
one  long,  delightful  experience. 

For  the  use  of  the  commander's  table  1 1  tons  of 
ale,  beer,  wine  or  other  liquors  were  carried  in  casks 
or  bottles,  allowing  252  gallons  or  36  dozen  quart 
bottles  to  the  ton.  There  were  also  40  tons  of  beef, 
pork,  bacon,  suet  and  tongues,  28  tons  of  beer  (addi- 
tional to  the  above),  350  cwt.  of  bread,  30  firkins  of 
butter,  500  gallons  of  spirit  for  the  commander's 
table,  1040  gallons  of  spirit  for  the  ship's  company, 
20  cauldrons  of  coals,  50  dozen  candles,  50  cwt.  of 
cheese,  £6$  worth  of  "  chirugery  and  drugs,"  6 
cases  of  confectionery,  134  cwt.  of  flour,  21  cwt. 
of  fish,  80  cwt.  of  groceries,  130  gallons  of  lime- 
juice,  50  bushels  of  oatmeal,  300  gallons  of  sweet  and 
lamp  oil,  500  bushels  of  oats,  15  tons  of  potatoes, 
5  barrels  of  herrings  and  salmon,  2  chests  of  "slops" 
for  the  seamen  to  obtain  new  clothes,  1 1  hogsheads 


WAYS  AND  MEANS  251 

of  vinegar,  6  chests  of  oranges  and  lemons  and  70 
tons  of  drinking  water.  In  addition,  63  barrels  of 
gunpowder,  6  tons  of  iron  shot,  6  tons  of  iron  for  the 
store,  5  cwt.  of  lead  shot,  20  barrels  of  pitch,  6  cwt. 
of  rosin,  7  tons  of  spare  cordage,  2\  tons  of  sheet 
lead,  30  cwt.  of  tobacco,  20  barrels  of  tar,  3  barrels 
of  turpentine  and  quantities  of  wood  were  also 
carried  for  the  boatswain's,  gunner's  and  carpenter's 
stores. 

As  to  the  passengers'  baggage,  Gentlemen  in 
Council  were  allowed  to  bring  three  tons  or  twenty 
feet  of  baggage,  two  chests  of  wine  being  included 
as  part  of  this  baggage  if  returning  to  India.  Their 
ladies  were  allowed  to  take  one  ton  of  baggage  if 
proceeding  with  their  husbands :  but  if  proceeding 
to  their  husbands  two  tons.  General  officers  were 
allowed  the  same  as  Gentlemen  in  Council,  colonels 
were  allowed  three  tons,  but  only  one  chest  of  wine, 
and  so  on  down  the  scale.  When  a  first-class  pas- 
senger to-day  goes  aboard  a  liner  he  finds  that  his 
state-room  contains  everything  that  is  required  in 
the  way  of  furniture  :  but  had  he  lived  in  the  days 
of  the  East  Indiamen  he  would  have  to  have  taken 
on  board  a  table,  a  sofa  (or  two  chairs),  and  a  wash- 
hand  stand.  This  much  he  would  have  to  acquire, 
and  this  much  he  was  allowed.  But  in  addition  to 
bedding,  sofa,  table  and  two  chairs,  members  of  the 
Select  Committee  could  take  three  tons  of  baggage, 
supra-cargoes  two  and  a  half  tons  and  writers  pro- 
ceeding to  China  one  and  a  half  tons. 

If  there  was  no  duty  payable  on  the  baggage  it 
could  be  shipped  at  Gravesend  :  but  if  otherwise  it 
went  aboard  at  Portsmouth.  No  other  articles  than 
wearing  apparel  and  such  things  as  were  really 


252  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

intended  for  the  use  of  the  respective  passengers 
on  the  voyage,  including  "  musical  instruments  for 
ladies  "  and  books,  were  allowed  to  be  taken  as 
baggage. 

The  East  India  Dock  Company,  which  we  have 
seen  was  a  subsidiary  company  of  the  East  India 
Company,  was  governed  by  twelve  directors,  and  the 
three  dock-masters  lived  at  the  docks.  Before  the 
vessels  were  allowed  to  enter  the  dock  they  had  to 
be  dismantled  to  their  lower  masts,  take  out  their 
guns,  ammunition,  anchors  and  stores  while  they  lay 
at  moorings.  Before  being  permitted  to  enter,  a 
report  had  to  be  made  by  the  captain  to  the  dock- 
master  of  the  amount  of  water  the  ship  was  leaking 
every  twelve  hours  for  the  previous  three  days. 
Whatever  stores  remained  in  her  after  coming  into 
the  basin  had  to  be  discharged  before  she  was 
allowed  to  go  into  the  inner  dock.  But  all  ships 
from  the  East  Indies  or  China  unloaded  their 
cargoes  within  the  docks,  except  in  the  case  of  the 
biggest  ships,  which  had  to  unload  some  of  their 
goods  in  Long  Reach,  so  as  to  lessen  the  draught  of 
water.  Outward-bound  East  Indiamen  used  to  load 
either  in  the  dock  or  in  the  river  below  Limehouse 
Creek.  Gunpowder  was  always  unloaded  before 
entering  dock,  and  the  Company's  servants  would 
superintend  the  unloading  of  the  cargoes  when 
finally  moored  alongside  the  wharf.  The  goods  were 
then  taken  away  by  the  Company's  "  caravans,"  the 
tea  being  conveyed  to  the  Company's  warehouses 
without  being  weighed  at  the  docks. 

Tea,  of  course,  was  not  the  only,  though  the  prin- 
cipal cargo  which  these  ships  were  bringing  home. 
To  give  a  complete  list  of  the  commodities  would 


WAYS  AND  MEANS  253 

take  up  too  much  space,  but  we  may  be  allowed  to 
mention  the  following  as  being  among  those  com- 
monly found  in  the  hold  of  a  homeward-bound  East 
Indiaman : — Aloes,  drugs,  buffalo  hides,  bark,  coffee, 
camphor,  cotton,  cowries,  silk,  cochineal,  coral,  ele- 
phants' teeth,  ebony,  green  ginger,  gum  arabic,  hemp. 
Japan  copper,  china-ware,  shells,  myrrh,  nutmegs, 
nux  vomica,  opium,  pepper,  rice,  redwood,  spikenard, 
shellac,  sugar,  saltpetre,  sago,  sandalwood,  as  well 
as  both  black  and  green  tea. 

The  Company  had  their  warehouses  in  Fenchurch 
Street,  Haydon  Square,  Cooper's  Row,  Jewry  Street, 
Crutched  Friars,  New  Street,  Leadenhall  Street, 
and  elsewhere  in  London.  As  to  the  private  trade 
allowed  to  the  commanders  and  officers  by  the  Com- 
pany, we  have  already  shown  what  spaces  were 
granted  in  these  ships,  but  it  may  not  be  out  of  place 
to  mention  that  the  goods  under  this  category  used  to 
include  such  articles  as  the  following,  which  were 
much  in  demand  in  the  East : — Carriages,  ale  and 
beer,  earthenware,  hosiery,  anchors,  books,  charts, 
bar  iron,  looking-glasses,  ironmongery,  Manchester 
goods,  cutlery,  millinery,  hats,  clocks,  chronometers 
and  watches,  boots  and  shoes,  jewellery,  saddlery, 
lead,  port  wine,  stationery,  window  glass,  wines,  and 
so  on. 

Smuggling  still  went  on  even  well  into  the  nine- 
teenth century  from  these  homeward-bound  ships, 
and  commanders,  officers  and  men  were  just  as  bad 
as  each  other.  The  Company  and  the  Board  of 
Customs  did  their  best  to  stop  it  by  regulations  and 
threats,  but  there  was  a  certain  amount  of  satisfac- 
tion in  cheating  the  State,  and  good  prices  were 
always  offered  and  received  for  these  goods  from  the 


254  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

East.  The  officers  were  always  reminde'd  when 
being  sworn  in  that  if  they  took  any  part  in  this  illicit 
trade  they  would  be  dismissed  the  service,  but  it  was 
most  difficult  to  put  an  end  to  the  offence,  the  chief 
goods  illegally  thus  imported  being  tea,  muslins, 
china-ware  and  diamonds :  and  the  professional 
smuggler  was  always  glad  to  give  what  help  he  could 
in  running  his  small  craft  alongside  the  East  India - 
man  as  she  came  up  the  English  Channel  and 
anchored  in  the  Downs.  It  was  for  this  reason  that 
the  Company  took  every  care  that  their  ships  did 
not  loiter  off  the  British  coasts  when  returning.  But 
very  often  it  happened  that,  after  the  officers  of  these 
ships  had  been  detected  smuggling  by  the  Board 
of  Customs  officials,  the  Company  never  learned 
anything  of  the  matter,  for  although  suits  were 
brought  against  the  offending  parties  the  latter  used 
to  compound  and  the  matter  ended,  though  not  with- 
out loss  to  the  Company  itself. 

The  biggest  East  Indiaman  in  existence  about  the 
year  1813  was  the  Royal  Charlotte  of  1518  registered 
tons.  She  measured  194  feet  long,  43  feet  6  inches 
wide,  and  had  been  built  as  far  back  as  the  year  1785. 
About  the  same  size  were  the  Arniston  (1498  tons), 
Hope  (1498  tons),  Cirenc  ester  (1504  tons),  Coutts 
(1504  tons),  Glatton  (1507  tons),  Cuffnells  (1497 
tons),  Ne-ptune  (1478  tons),  Thames  (1487  tons)  and 
W aimer  Castle  (1518  tons).  There  were  about  116 
ships  in  the  Company's  service  at  the  time  we  are 
speaking,  and  these  had  been  built  either  on  the 
bottoms  of  other  ships,  or  by  open  competition  (in 
pursuance  of  the  late  eighteenth-century  Act  which 
had  made  this  compulsory),  or  they  were  those  much 
smaller  "  extra  "  ships.  Some  again  had  been  built 


WAYS  AND  MEANS  255 

as  a  speculation,  and  had  been  taken  up  by  the 
Company,  whilst  at  least  one — the  Thomas  Gren- 
ville — had  been  built  at  Bombay  for  the  Company  in 
the  year  1809.  And  there  were  in  process  of  con- 
struction in  this  year  four  vessels  in  India,  and  one 
in  England  for  the  season  1813-1814.  The  India- 
built  ships  were  being  constructed  in  Bombay, 
Bengal  and  Calcutta,  and  all  these  ships  were  of 
1 200  tons.  The  following,  which  is  an  example  of  a 
tender  made  under  the  new  system  of  free  and  open 
competition,  and  accepted  by  the  Company,  indi- 
cates the  prices  per  ton  which  were  paid  for  engaging 
these  East  Indiamen  in  September  1796  : — 

*  To  China,  and  the  several  parts  of  India. 
"  Ganges,  1200  tons,  William  Moifat,  Esq., 

for  six  voyages     .  .  .       £ij   10 

Surplus  tonnage,  peace  and  war  .  ^815 
For  difference  of  outfit,  difference  of  In- 
surance beyond  eight  guineas  per  cent., 
maintaining  seamen,  returning  lascars, 
and  every  other  contingency  and  ex- 
pence  .  .  .  ;£i8  10." 

The  Company  had  its  own  hydrographer,  who 
inspected  the  journals  of  the  commanders  and 
officers  on  the  arrival  home  of  the  ships.  Happily 
some  of  these  are  still  in  existence,  and  from  them 
we  are  able  to  gather  a  good  many  details  of  the 
work  which  went  on  in  the  ships.  Let  us  take,  for 
example,  the  journal  of  Griffin  Hawkins,  who  was  a 
midshipman  in  the  Triton  during  the  years  1792- 
1794.  This  was  one  of  the  more  moderate-sized 
East  Indiamen  of  800  tons.  We  have  not  space  to 
go  through  the  whole  of  this  journal,  which  occupied 


256  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

a  good  many  large  and  closely  written  pages,  but  it 
is  merely  to  illustrate  the  Company's  standing  orders 
which  we  have  already  chronicled,  and  to  show  the 
preparations  which  were  made  in  getting  these  East 
Indiamen  ready  for  sea,  that  the  following  brief 
extracts  are  made.  You  must  think  of  her  as  lying 
off  Deptford,  and  in  order  that  you  may  be  able  to 
picture  her  the  more  easily,  the  accompanying  sketch 
of  her  at  anchor  by  young  Hawkins  himself  is  here 
reproduced.  The  time  of  which  we  are  now  to  speak 
is  the  autumn  of  1792,  when  the  ship  was  in  hand  for 
the  1792-1793  season. 

"  Tuesday  Oct.  3Oth  .  .  .  at  1 1  A.M.  came  on  board 
Mr  Upham,  Inspector,  with  Mr  Bale,  Surveyor,  over- 
hauld  the  limbers  &c.  Left  Mr  Bale  on  board. 
Employed  taking  in  empty  butts,  and  stowing  them, 
also  the  ship's  coals.  Chief  and  fourth  officers  on 
board.  .  .  . 

"  Wednesday  3ist.  .  .  .  Received  on  board  the 
best  and  smallest  bower  cables,  and  sundry  stores, 
filled  43  butts  with  water.  Do.  officers. 

1  Thursday  Nov.  ist.  .  .  .  Employed  taking  in  tin 
and  iron,  on  account  of  Honble.  Company,  also  the 
ship's  shott  and  sundry  old  stores,  filling  water  etc. 
Do.  officers. 

"  Friday  2nd.  .  .  .  Clapt  a  mooring  service  on  the 
small  bower  cable,  set  up  the  rigging  for  and  aft, 
filling  water  etc.  Do.  and  6th  officers  on  board. 

"  Saturday  3rd.  .  .  .  Employed  taking  in  shot  on 
account  of  the  Honble.  Compy.  and  45  tons  of  kent- 
ledge for  the  ship,  and  also  some  small  stores,  filling 
water  etc.  Clapt  a  mooring  service  on  the  best 
bower.  2nd,  4th  and  6th  officers  on  board." 

On  the   following   Monday  the   ship   took  in  a 


WAYS  AND  MEANS  257 

quantity  of  copper  as  well  as  sundry  stores.  On  the 
Tuesday  she  shipped  three  new  cables,  her  pitch, 
tar  and  chandlery  stores.  On  the  Wednesday  she 
saw  to  her  anchors  and  bent  on  her  cables.  On  the 
Thursday  her  pilot  came  aboard  and  took  her  down 
the  river  as  far  as  Gravesend.  And  finally — to  skip 
over  the  ensuing  weeks — after  leaving  the  Thames 
and  the  Isle  of  Wight,  she  had  to  put  in  to  Torbay, 
quitting  the  latter  not  till  i3th  January  1793.  The 
setting  forth  of  ships  was  thus  a  very  leisurely,  slow 
business  as  compared  with  the  dispatch  that  attends 
the  modern  liner. 

The  tea  which  came  in  these  ships  was  disposed  of 
at  the  quarterly  sales,  the  duty  being  paid  thirty 
days  later.  Some  idea  of  the  length  of  time  these 
vessels  were  away  from  home  may  be  gathered  from 
one  or  two  voyages  at  the  beginning  of  the  nine- 
teenth century.  Thus,  the  i2OO-ton  Glatton  left  the 
Downs  for  China  on  29th  March  1802,  proceeded  to 
China,  disposed  of  her  cargo,  took  on  board  a  fresh 
one,  and  was  back  at  her  moorings  in  the  Thames  by 
24th  April  of  the  following  year.  Another  ship,  the 
Marquis  of  Ely  (whose  managing  owner  was  Mr 
Robert  Wigram,  a  name  that  became  famous  during 
the  clipper  period),  also  of  1200  tons,  left  Ports- 
mouth on  2oth  March  1804,  proceeded  to  Ceylon 
and  China,  transacted  her  business,  and  was  back  at 
her  moorings  in  the  Thames  on  i2th  September 
of  the  following  year.  Some  of  the  smaller  vessels 
made  good  voyages  too,  when  we  consider  that  these 
ships  were  not  well  designed  nor  built  with  the  kind 
of  hull  that  makes  for  speed.  Their  first  object  was 
to  carry  safely  a  large  amount  of  cargo,  rather  than 
to  get  a  small  cargo  home  in  the  quickest  time.  Thus, 


258  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

the  6oo-ton  ship  Devaynes  left  Portsmouth  on  I7th 
September  1808  for  Bombay,  loaded  and  unloaded 
and  was  back  at  moorings  on  6th  July  1810.  The 
General  Stuart,  of  the  same  tonnage,  left  Portsmouth 
on  the  same  day  and  was  back  in  the  Thames  on 
1 6th  April  1810,  These  passages  may  be  con- 
veniently compared  with  the  hustling  days  of  sixty 
or  seventy  years  later,  when  the  famous  China  clipper 
Ariel  made  her  record  passage  out  to  China.  Leav- 
ing Gravesend  on  i4th  October  1866,  she  arrived 
in  Hong  Kong  the  following  6th  of  January  and 
was  back  again  in  the  Thames  on  23rd  September. 

The  East  India  Company  had  their  agents  in 
different  ports,  both  at  home  and  abroad,  and  it  is 
worth  mentioning  in  passing  that  the  Company's 
agent  at  Halifax  a  few  years  later  on  in  the  century 
—that  is  to  say,  about  the  year  1830 — was  that 
Samuel  Cunard  who  was  afterwards  to  found  the 
great  line  of  Atlantic  steamships  which  still  bear 
his  name. 

It  was  in  the  year  1814  that  a  most  momentous 
development  occurred.  Ever  since  the  time  of 
Elizabeth  the  East  India  Company  had  possessed 
this  wonderful  monopoly  of  trading  to  the  East.  In 
spite  of  the  march  of  time,  in  spite  of  all  the  improve- 
ments in  commerce  and  the  development  of  the 
world,  in  spite  of  the  spread  of  industrialism  and 
the  growing  demands  of  democracy,  in  spite  of  all  the 
vast  sums  of  money  which  had  been  on  the  aggre- 
gate extracted  from  the  East,  in  spite,  finally,  of  the 
many  abuses  of  which  the  East  India  Company  or  its 
servants  had  been  guilty,  this  exclusive  privilege  of 
trade  had  been  withheld  for  over  two  centuries  from 
the  other  persons  or  corporations  of  the  kingdom. 

But  now  all  this  was  banished.     For  a  long  time 


WAYS  AND  MEANS  259 

merchant  enterprise  had  realised  that  Eastern  trade 
would  be  extended,  and  that  considerably,  if  it  were 
thrown  open  and  competition  were  allowed  to  have 
its  way.  So  in  the  year  mentioned  the  monopoly 
was  done  away  with  as  regards  India.  The  British 
public  were  henceforth  allowed  to  trade  with  that 
country  unconditionally,  except  that  it  must  be  done 
in  vessels  of  not  less  than  350  tons.  But  China  was 
reserved  as  the  exclusive  trading  preserve  of  the 
East  India  Company,  and  the  Company  still  re- 
tained the  control  of  the  supply  of  tea,  which  had 
become  now  a  common  article  of  consumption,  and 
therefore  the  importing  of  this  commodity  was  of 
great  value  to  this  ancient  corporation. 

It  was  not  without  a  great  effort  that  the  Indian 
monopoly  was  done  away  with.  This  was  a  time 
when  the  interests  of  private  individuals  in  high 
power  were  considered  even  more  than  they  would 
be  to-day.  The  character  of  social  life  has  changed  a 
great  deal  since  then,  so  that  it  is  not  immediately 
easy  to  appreciate  the  revolutionary  nature  of  this 
change  from  a  close  preserve,  strictly  guarded  for 
many  a  generation,  to  become  an  open  area  common 
to  all  and  sundry  of  the  British  nation.  The 
merchants  of  Manchester,  Bristol  and  Glasgow  had 
been  agitating  for  years  :  now  at  last  the  desired 
object  had  been  attained.  All  sorts  of  arguments 
were  spoken  and  printed  concerning  the  reasons  on 
behalf  of  the  monopoly.  Some  of  these  were 
utterly  ridiculous,  and  obviously  not  sufficiently  dis- 
interested to  appear  sincere.  The  argument  of  the 
monopolists  was  largely  of  the  kind  which  says 
practically  :  "  You  may  not  like  it,  but  allow  us  to 
tell  you  that  it  is  really  all  for  your  good  that  we 


260  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

want  the  monopoly  ourselves/'  Merchants  outside 
the  Company  were  too  wide-awake  to  see  it  in  that 
light.  And  when  this  monopoly  was  removed  in 
1814,  what  was  the  result? 

The  result  was  this.  As  soon  as  the  barrier  was 
thrown  down,  private  shipowners  entered,  and  a 
number  of  excellent  ships  were  built  for  the  voyages 
to  India  and  back.  Commerce  received  a  great 
impetus,  and  eventually  (as  had  been  foreseen)  the 
private  traders  gained  ascendancy  over  the  East 
India  Company,  and  the  trade  with  India  became 
trebled.  The  effect  of  this  new  element  of  com- 
petition was  to  cause  a  reduction  in  the  average  rate 
of  freights  per  ton.  The  East  India  Company  had 
been  paying  ^40  a  ton  for  their  ships,  while  better 
ships  could  be  built  and  equipped  for  £2$  a  ton. 
By  the  year  1830  the  cost  of  freights  from  India  to 
England  had  dropped  to  ^10  a  ton.  There  can  be 
no  doubt  that  the  Company  had  been  managing  their 
affairs  with  too  little  regard  to  economy.  Their  ships 
were  fitted  up  with  too  much  expense  for  the  pas- 
sengers. They  were  paying  ^40  a  ton  as  against 
^25  paid  by  other  traders.  The  East  India  Com- 
pany's ships  carried  much  larger  crews  than  other 
ships.  The  former  used  to  have  one  man  to  every 
ten  or  twelve  tons,  though  the  ships  engaged  in  the 
West  Indian  trade  carried  one  man  to  every  twenty- 
five  tons.  And  whilst  we  are  making  comparisons 
let  us  show  how  much  beamier  these  East  Indiamen 
were.  Four  beams  to  the  length  was  their  rule,  as 
compared  with  five  or  six  beams  to  the  length  in  the 
case  of  the  famous  Clyde  and  American  clippers 
which  were  to  come  after.  To-day  in  the  twentieth 
century  the  biggest  Atlantic  liners  have  between  nine 


WAYS  AND  MEANS  261 

anH  ten  beams  to  their  length.  It  should  be  men- 
tioned at  the  same  time  that  these  East  Indiamen 
had  necessarily  to  carry  large  numbers  of  men  be- 
cause they  must  needs  be  well  armed  to  fight  their 
enemies  on  an  equal  footing.  But  the  long  years  of 
warfare  were  now  giving  way  to  peace,  and  instead 
there  was  to  come  a  century  of  industrial  progress, 
invention  and  commercial  development.  Privateers, 
hostile  ships,  pirates — these  were  to  be  withdrawn, 
and  simultaneously  the  need  for  arming  merchant- 
men disappeared.  It  is  only  quite  recently,  with  the 
Anglo-German  tension,  that  our  merchant  ships  have 
begun  to  be  armed  again  on  any  extensive  scale. 

The  abolition  of  the  monopoly  gave  a  new  impetus 
to  British  shipbuilding,  and  the  firm  of  Scotts,  of 
Greenock,  turned  out  some  fine  vessels  for  the  East, 
such  as  the  Christian,  launched  in  1818,  the  Bell  field 
of  478  register  tons — the  latter  being  built  in  1820. 
Both  these  ships  were  for  the  London-Calcutta  trade. 
The  Company  were  of  course  still  trading  to  India 
and  China,  and  among  the  ships  which  they  owned 
or  hired  about  the  last-mentioned  date  may  be  men- 
tioned the  following.  Their  biggest  ship,  then,  was 
the  Lowther  Castle,  of  1507  tons.  She  was  built  in 
the  year  181 1,  carried  26  guns  and  130  men.  Another 
fine  ship  was  the  Earl  of  Balcarres,  built  at  Bombay 
in  1815.  She  had  the  same  number  of  men  and 
guns  as  the  Lowther  Castle,  though  of  1417  tons 
register.  Such  a  vessel  was  ship-rigged  with  three 
masts,  triangular  headsails  and  stuns'ls.  Still  un- 
able to  get  away  from  the  mediaeval  influence,  the 
jibboom  was  "  steeved  "  very  high.  With  her  rows 
of  square  ports,  her  figurehead,  her  enormous 
anchors,  which  were  stowed  over  the  side  by  the  fore 


262  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

rigging,  she  was  very  similar  to  a  British  man-of-war 
of  that  period.  Boat-davits  had  now  come  into  use, 
and  a  boat  was  thus  hung  on  each  quarter. 

Contemporary  manuscript  records  of  the  late 
eighteenth-century  Company's  ships  show  them 
wearing  a  long  pennant  at  one  mast  and  a  square 
flag  at  another.  Each  of  the  East  Indiamen  ships 
in  a  convoy  would  have  its  own  distinguishing  pen- 
nant. Sometimes  this  was  flown  at  the  main  with  a 
square  flag  at  the  fore,  at  other  times  you  find  a  ship 
with  the  square  flag  at  the  mizen  and  the  pennant  at 
the  fore.  And  a  most  elaborate  code  of  signals  both 
for  day  and  night  was  provided  for  use  between  the 
flagship  and  the  respective  units. 

Promotion  in  the  Company's  own  ships  was  by 
seniority,  though  in  the  case  of  the  ships  which  the 
Company  hired  from  private  owners  for  a  certain 
number  of  voyages,  promotion  depended  rather  on 
ability  and  influence.  The  East  India  Company 
were  wont  to  appoint  commanders  to  their  ships 
before  the  latter  were  completed,  in  order  that  they 
might  be  fitted  out  under  the  captain's  personal 
supervision.  Midshipmen  had  to  be  between  thir- 
teen and  eighteen  years  of  age.  Pursers  were 
appointed  by  the  commander,  subject  to  the 
approval  of  the  Committee  of  Shipping.  We  have 
shown  that  if  the  pay  in  these  ships  was  not  great, 
yet  the  privileges  were  so  lucrative  that  a  commander 
could  afford  to  retire  after  four  or  five  voyages  with 
a  fortune  that  would  render  him  independent  for  the 
rest  of  his  life.  What  with  being  allowed  to  engage 
extensively  in  the  Eastern  trade,  plus  the  amount  of 
free  space  allowed  them  for  this  purpose  on  board, 
and  the  receipt  of  passage-money  from  the  various 


S  6C 


WAYS  AND  MEANS  263 

officials  who  voyaged  between  England  and  India, 
a  commander  was  remarkably  unlucky  if  he  had  not 
made  about  ,£20,000  in  his  five  voyages  in  that  rank. 
In  some  cases  his  revenue  amounted  to  about  ;£6ooo 
a  voyage  and  even  more.  This  is  the  figure  for  what 
he  obtained  by  honest  means.  To  this  must  be 
added  in  many  cases  that  which  he  obtained  by  illicit 
trade,  better  known  as  smuggling.  Lindsay  mentions 
the  instance  of  one  commander  within  his  own  know- 
ledge who  in  one  voyage  from  London  to  India, 
thence  to  China  and  so  back  to  London,  realised  no 
less  than  ,£30,000,  this  captain  having  a  large  inter- 
est in  the  freight  of  cotton  and  other  produce  con- 
veyed from  India  to  China.  And,  having  examinee! 
the  records  of  the  custom-house,  I  can  assure  the 
reader  that  whatever  a  captain  made  legally  he  also 
made  additional  sums  by  stealth,  to  the  loss  of  the 
nation's  customs. 

These  ships  would  go  out  of  their  voyage  to  call 
at  foreign,  English,  Irish  and  Scottish  ports,  or  to 
meet  with  smuggling  craft  at  sea  in  order  to  unload 
some  of  their  goods  stealthily,  and  that  was  why  the 
Company  were  so  particular  in  inquiring  into  the 
deviations  made  during  the  passage.  It  speaks  very 
little  for  the  honour  of  some  of  these  captains  that, 
in  spite  of  such  handsome  remuneration  from  one 
source  and  another,  they  were  always  ready  to  go 
out  of  their  way  to  earn  a  little  more  by  dishonest 
methods  that  would  bring  themselves,  their  ship  and 
the  Company  into  disgrace.  But  it  is  never  fair  to 
judge  men  except  when  taking  into  consideration  the 
moral  standard  of  the  time  :  and  the  less  said  about 
the  eighteenth  and  early  nineteenth  century  in  this 
respect  perhaps  the  better.  Might  was  right,  and 


264  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

honesty  in  commerce  was  a  rare  virtue.  Of  course, 
the  mere  existence  of  this  trade  monopoly  was  in 
itself  an  unhealthy  influence,  breeding  jealousy,  cor- 
ruption, greed  and  avarice.  And  this  seems  to  have 
permeated  the  Company's  service  generally,  not 
merely  afloat,  but  ashore.  But  a  better  type  of  man 
of  good  family  and  high  character  entered  the  Com- 
pany's service  in  the  nineteenth  century.  This,  and 
the  rigorous  determination  of  the  Company  and  of 
the  Board  of  Customs,  made  smuggling  practically 
non-existent  in  these  East  Indiamen. 

Let  us  pass  now  to  a  more  pleasant  subject  and 
see  how  these  ships  were  worked  at  sea. 


CHAPTER    XVIII 

LIFE  ON  BOARD 

AT  6.30  A.M.  in  these  East  Indiamen  the  crew  began 
to  wash  down  decks,  and  an  hour  later  the  hammocks 
were  piped  up  and  stowed  in  the  nettings  round  the 
waist  by  the  quartermasters.  At  eight  o'clock  was 
breakfast,  and  then  began  the  duties  of  the  day.* 
The  midshipmen  slept  in  hammocks  also,  but  the 
chief  mate  and  the  commander  were  the  only  officers 
in  the  ship  to  have  a  cabin  of  their  own. 

In  no  other  ships  outside  the  navy,  excepting 
perhaps  some  privateers,  was  discipline  so  strict. 
The  seamen  were  divided  into  two  watches,  the 
officers  into  three.  The  crew  had  four  hours  on  duty 
and  four  hours  off.  There  was  always  plenty  of 
work  to  be  done.  After  saying  good-bye  to  the 
English  coast  cables  had  to  be  put  away  and  anchors 
stowed  for  bad  weather.  Sails  were  being  set,  men 
were  sent  aloft  to  take  in  sail,  and  sheets  and  braces 
required  trimming.  The  East  Indiamen  from  the 
latter  part  of  the  eighteenth  century  had  all  been 
steered  by  wheels,  and  the  accompanying  illustration 
shows  the  wheel  on  board  the  East  Indiaman  Triton. 

*  For  some   details   in   this   connection   I   am   indebted   to 
Lindsay's   "History  of  Merchant   Shipping,"  as  well  as  to  an 
article  in  The  Mariner's  Mirror,  vol.  i.,  No.  i. 
265 


266  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

The  rigging  also  had  to  be  set  up  occasionally,  and 
among  the  confidential  signals  to  be  used  by  these 
ships  when  proceeding  in  a  convoy,  you  will  find  one 
which  asks  permission  of  the  commodore  to  be 
allowed  to  heave-to  and  set  up  rigging.  In  addition, 
ballast  sometimes  required  shifting,  sails  had  to  be 
repaired,  leaks  stopped,  masts  greased,  new  splices 
made  and  so  on.  This  was  in  normal  voyages  :  but 
in  the  case  of  bad  weather  there  was  much  more 
besides. 

On  Wednesdays  and  Saturdays  the  'tween  decks 
were  cleaned  and  holystoned.  The  origin  of  the 
word  "  holystoned  "  has  been  variously  derived. 
To  "  holystone  "  is  to  rub  the  decks  with  sand- 
stone or  "  prayer-books/'  When  ships,  both  of  the 
East  India  Company,  his  Majesty's  navy  and  other 
craft,  used  to  anchor  in  St  Helen's  Roads  (off  Bern- 
bridge,  Isle  of  Wight,  facing  Portsmouth)  the  place 
was  found  convenient  for  two  reasons.  There  was 
a  convenient  dip-well  close  to  the  shore,  which  still 
exists  to-day  :  and  this  water  kept  in  wooden  butts 
used  to  keep  so  well,  and  unlike  much  other  water 
did  not  turn  putrid  when  the  ships  had  been  at  sea 
some  time,  that  East  Indiamen  were  actually  known 
to  have  brought  back  some  of  it  home  quite  fresh 
after  being  out  to  the  East  and  remaining  in  the  ship 
about  a  twelvemonth.  But  besides  the  excellent 
water,  the  men  used  to  be  sent  ashore  here  to  obtain 
sand  for  scrubbing  the  decks.  One  day  it  was  dis- 
covered that  there  was  nothing  so  good  as  a  piece 
of  the  stone  of  the  old  St  Helen's  Church,  which 
had  recently  been  abandoned,  the  relic  of  which 
survives  to-day  only  as  a  sea-mark.  In  those  sacri- 
legious days  there  was  little  respect  for  hallowed 


LIFE  ON  BOARD  267 

things,  such  as  churches  or  graves,  and  before  long 
every  ship  that  came  to  these  roads  would  send  men 
ashore  as  a  matter  of  course  to  fetch  bits  of  the 
church  and  even  gravestones  in  small  blocks.  The 
suggestion  is  that  thus  when  the  decks  were  rubbed 
with  them  the  work  was  known  as  "  holystoning," 
and  the  blocks  themselves  called  "  Bibles  "  or 
"  Prayer-books."  * 

The  men  in  these  East  Indiamen  were  divided 
into  messes,  of  eight  men,  their  allotted  space  being 
between  the  guns,  where  the  mess-traps  were 
arranged.  The  'tween  decks  had  to  be  kept 
scrupulously  clean,  and  were  inspected  by  the  com- 
mander and  surgeon.  No  work  was  allowed  to  be 
performed  on  Sunday  except  what  was  necessary, 
though  manuscript  journals  rather  show  that  this 
regulation  was  not  much  respected.  The  crew  were 
mustered  in  their  best  clothes,  and  then  everyone 
that  could  be  spared  was  present  at  prayers.  Dinner 
was  served  at  noon,  and  the  passengers  were  given 
three  courses  and  dessert,  but  without  fish.  There 
was  plenty  of  wine  and  beer,  and  there  was  also 
grog  at  ii  A.M.  and  9  P.M.  Champagne  was  drunk 
twice  a  week.  There  was  a  cow  carried,  and  later  on 
the  caff ,  which  was  always  brought  on  board  with  its 
mother,  became  veal  when  the  ship  had  crossed  the 
line  and  was  nearer  India.  In  addition  there  were 
also  ducks  and  fowls,  sheep  and  pigs,  so  that  the 
ship's  boats  and  decks  were  often  mildly  suggestive 
of  a  farmyard.  The  crew  had  grog  served  out  to 
them  at  dinner-time  and  on  Saturday  nights,  when 
the  time-honoured  custom  of  "  sweethearts  and 

*  Mentioned  in  Captain  E.  du  Boulay's  "  Bembridge,  Past  and 
Present." 


268  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

wives  "  had  not  begun  to  die  out.  As  we  have  seen 
from  Addison's  journals  the  ceremonies  of  crossing 
the  line  were  kept  up,  and  Eastwick  has  instanced 
dances  :  and  in  addition  theatricals  were  also  given 
on  board  to  relieve  the  monotony  of  the  long  voyage. 
The  men  often  employed  their  dog-watches  to 
"  make  and  mend/'  or  going  through  their  sea- 
chests,  games  or  amusements.  On  Saturday  nights 
there  would  be  songs  and  dancing.  When  they 
reached  their  Eastern  port,  the  men  would  unload 
the  ship  themselves  without  the  assistance  of  natives. 
And  a  ship  in  those  days  was  far  more  independent 
of  the  shore  than  even  a  sailing  ship  is  to-day.  There 
were  no  better  riggers  in  the  world,  and  steel  rope 
had  not  taken  the  place  of  hemp.  We  have  seen 
from  Addison  that  in  China  the  crews  of  the  Com- 
pany's ships  rowed  guard  on  Sundays  among  the 
ships  in  the  harbour.  The  number  of  guns  which 
these  ships  carried  has  been  mentioned  at  various 
dates  throughout  these  pages,  and  the  men  were  drilled 
with  about  as  much  persistency  as  in  the  Royal  Navy 
of  that  time.  The  mediaeval  boarding-pike  was  still 
in  use,  and  they  were  drilled  also  in  musket,  cutlass 
and  other  small-arms.  Also  quite  naval  fashion  was 
the  custom  of  holding  courts  martial  on  board,  the 
members  being  composed  of  the  captain  and  the 
four  senior  officers,  the  latter  having  always  been 
sworn  when  the  captain  took  his  oath  prior  to  the 
ship's  sailing  from  London.  Discipline  was  strict 
even  to  harshness  and  cruelty,  and  punishments  were 
sometimes  inflicted  for  the  merest  trivialities.  At 
the  same  time  these  crews  were  not  as  mild  as  a 
porcelain  shepherdess,  and  they  were  a  tough,  virile, 
desperate  class  as  a  whole.  The  reader  will  recollect 


LIFE  ON  BOARD  269 

Addison's  entry  in  his  journal  that  such  and  such  a 
seaman  was  punished  "  with  a  dozen  "  for  insolence 
or  neglect.  This  punishment  was  inflicted  over  the 
bare  back  and  shoulders  by  the  brawny  boatswain's 
mate  armed  with  a  cat-o'-nine-tails,  the  victim  being 
triced  up  by  the  thumbs.  And  when  it  was  all  over 
a  bucket  of  salt  water  washed  the  blood  away.  Yes, 
these  men  were  reckless,  they  were  a  coarse  lot  of 
dare-devils,  they  were  ever  ready  to  break  all  the 
laws  and  regulations  which  concerned  them.  They 
would  desert  or  cheat  his  Majesty's  customs,  knock 
a  man  down,  drink  far  more  than  was  good  for  them, 
yet  for  all  that  they  were  true  seamen  to  their  finger- 
tips, who  could  be  relied  upon  to  go  aloft  in  all 
weathers,  and  the  very  fellows  on  whom  you  could 
rely  when  it  was  a  question  of  nerve  and  pluck.  In 
battle,  stripped  to  the  waist,  they  would  fight  with 
the  utmost  courage :  and  when  punishment  was 
whacked  out  to  them  they  bore  it  like  true  sons  of 
Britain. 

They  were  kept  fairly  busy  on  board,  yet  as  there 
were  so  many  hands  no  one  could  justly  complain 
of  being  overworked  as  in  the  case  of  the  modern 
man-of-war.  They  had  always  plenty  of  food  and 
grog,  and  they  knew  that  if  they  were  killed  in  the 
Company's  service  their  wives  and  dependents 
would  be  looked  after. 

As  for  the  ships  themselves,  they  were  of  course 
all  built  of  wood.  From  roughly  1775  to  well  on 
into  the  nineteenth  century  they  were  not  only 
rigged,  fitted  out,  manned  and  handled  like  the  con- 
temporary frigates  of  the  Royal  Navy,  but  they 
were,  in  the  first  place,  built  after  their  model,  with 
one  exception.  The  East  Indiamen  were  a  fuller- 


270  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

bodied  type,  but  the  naval  frigates,  inasmuch  as 
they  were  built  for  speed  and  not  for  cargo,  could 
afford  to  have  finer  lines.  A  great  deal  of  valuable 
room  had  to  be  wasted  in  the  excessive  amount  of 
pig-iron  ballast  which  these  ships  had  to  carry.  To 
call  them  fast  would  not  be  truthful,  but  then  there 
was  no  competition  before  the  year  1814,  and  so 
there  was  little  need  to  hurry,  and  they  certainly  were 
not  driven.  At  the  approach  of  night  they  snugged 
down,  for  there  was  no  premium  awaiting  them,  how- 
ever fast  they  made  the  voyage.  If,  however,  they 
endangered  the  ship  or  damaged  the  cargo  they 
would  not  only  incur  the  East  India  Company's 
displeasure,  but  detract  from  their  own  privileges. 

Therefore  before  darkness  overtook  them  these 
ships  would  always  take  in  their  royals  and  fine- 
weather  sails,  and  the  royal  yards  would  be  sent 
down  on  deck.  If  bad  weather  threatened  them 
t'gallantsails  and  mainsail  would  also  be  stowed, 
and  a  precautionary  reef  tucked  in  the  topsails. 
Thus  these  vessels  never  made  record-breaking  runs, 
and  were  never  given  the  opportunity  of  showing 
their  fullest  speed.  Caution  was  the  dominating 
factor,  and  not  speed.  In  other  words,  the  policy 
was  the  exact  opposite  of  the  clipper  ships  which 
were  to  follow  :  but  then  the  clippers  were  built  for 
speed,  and  not  for  fighting.  There  was  in  essentials 
very  little  difference  between  the  hulls  of  the  time 
of  James  I.  and  of  the  early  nineteenth  century,  if 
w'e  omit  the  somewhat  elaborate  external  decoration 
which  was  peculiar  to  the  Stuart  times,  and  give  the 
ships  their  later  triangular  headsails,  staysails  and 
a  spanker  instead  of  the  old  lateen  mizen.  The 
cumbrous  hull  was  really  but  little  modified.  Built 


LIFE  ON  BOARD  271 

of  English  oak,  elm,  and  Indian  teak,  copper- 
fastened  throughout,  the  later  ships  of  the  Company 
were  strong  and  well-found,  with  good  spars,  stout 
rigging  and  canvas.  Sometimes  they  were  built  by 
the  very  men  and  on  the  very  yard  that  had  witnessed 
the  building  of  the  King's  ships. 

One  of  the  finest  ships  ever  built  for  the  Company 
was  the  famous  East  Indiaman  Thames.     Happily 
that   great   marine   artist   of   the    early   nineteenth 
century,    E.   W.   Cooke,   sketched  her   in   all   her 
beauty,  and  the  accompanying  illustration  shows  how 
she  appeared  in  the  year  1829.     This  was  a  vessel 
of  1424  tons,  with  her  general,  massive  appearance, 
the  strength  of  her  gear,  the  gun-ports,  the  decora- 
tive stern  with  its' windows — the  East  Indiaman  with 
all  her  striking  characteristics  of  picturesque  power. 
A  boat  hangs  in  davits  on  either  quarter,  the  topsails 
are  still  single  and  very  deep,  with  plenty  of  reef- 
points,  but  the  hull  is  certainly  unnecessarily  cum- 
brous and  clumsy — impressive  rather  than  beautiful, 
strong  rather  than  fine.    But  in  any  case  she  would 
have  been  a  pretty  tough  proposition  for  a  contem- 
porary hostile  ship  to  tackle,  especially  with  such 
crews  as  she  carried.     Compared  with  her  contem- 
porary, the  West  Indiaman  Thetis  (which  is  here 
shown   in   the   act   of   getting   under   way   off   the 
Needles),  the  Thames  is  a  more  powerful  fighting 
ship.    But  the  West  Indiamen  were  essentially  more 
suited  for  trade,  and  their  capacity  for  cargo  was 
very  great.     They  were  mercantile  craft  pure  and 
simple. 

One  of  the  greatest  disasters  which  ever  befell 
any  of  these  East  Indiamen  was  the  loss  of  the 
Kent.  This  was  a  fine  new  ship  which  had  left  the 


272  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

Downs  on  the  iqih  of  February  1825.  She  was  of 
1350  tons,  so  very  similar  to  the  Thames.  She  was 
bound  out  to  China,  calling  first  at  Bengal,  and  in 
her  were  travelling  officers,  troops,  women  and 
children  of  the  3ist  Regiment,  as  well  as  twenty 
private  passengers  and  a  crew  of  148  officers  and 
men. 

Favoured  with  a  fine  north-east  wind  the  Kent 
made,  for  her  class  of  vessel,  a  quick  passage  down 
the  English  Channel,  and  on  the  23rd  was  out  in  the 
Atlantic  pitching  to  the  swell.  Interrupted  occa- 
sionally with  bad  weather  the  stately  ship  pursued 
her  way  across  the  Bay  of  Biscay  for  another  five 
days,  when  a  heavy  gale  from  the  south-west  sprang 
up,  and  the  following  morning  the  weather  got 
worse  :  the  fair  wind  which  had  brought  them  down 
Channel  now  headed  them  and  tormented.  The 
bigger  sails  were  taken  in,  and  others  were  close 
reefed.  Topgallant-yards  had  to  be  struck,  and  so 
violent  was  the  gale  that  by  the  morning  of  the  ist 
of  March  the  vessel  had  to  be  hove-to  under  a  triple- 
reefed  main-topsail  only.  In  other  words,  there  was 
only  the  merest  patch  of  canvas  allowed  on  her. 

She  was  rolling  very  badly,  and  life-lines  were 
run  along  the  deck  for  the  whole  watch  of  soldiers 
to  hang  on  by.  For  the  women  and  children  below, 
matters  were  alarming  and  unpleasant  in  those 
cooped-up  quarters.  So  heavily  did  the  Kent  roll 
that  at  every  lurch  her  main  chains  were  well  below  the 
water.  Things  were  bad  enough  on  deck,  but  below 
the  furniture  and  other  articles  had  broken  away 
from  their  cleats  and  were  being  violently  dashed 
about  both  in  the  cabins  and  the  cuddy.  In  order 
to  see  whether  everything  was  all  right  below  in  the 


1 

»,  tf 


LIFE  ON  BOARD  273 

hold,  one  of  the  ship's  officers  went  down  with  a 
couple  of  seamen,  in  case  anything  might  have 
broken  adrift  and  be  endangering  the  hull.  He  took 
with  him  a  patent  safety  lantern,  but  as  the  lamp  was 
burning  dimly  he  handed  it  up  to  the  orlop  deck  to 
be  trimmed.  He  then  discovered  that  one  of  the 
spirit  casks  had  got  adrift,  and  sent  the  two  men  to 
get  some  wood  to  wedge  it  up.  Soon  afterwards 
the  ship  gave  a  heavy  lurch,  so  that  the  officer  most 
unfortunately  dropped  the  lantern.  In  his  eagerness 
to  recover  it  he  let  go  his  hold  of  the  cask,  and  there 
was  a  smash.  Instantly  the  spirits  reached  the  lamp 
and  the  whole  of  the  afterhold  was  in  a  blaze. 

Here  was  a  terrible  position  :  a  raging  storm  out- 
side and  a  raging  fire  within.  Clouds  of  smoke 
came  up  the  hatchway  and  were  blown  violently  to 
leeward  as  the  wind  fanned  the  flames.  The  captain 
of  the  ship  gave  his  orders,  and  both  the  seamen  and 
the  troops  worked  their  very  hardest  with  buckets, 
pumps,  wet  sails,  hammocks — anything  in  fact  that 
could  be  employed  to  put  the  fire  out.  But  far  from 
decreasing  the  conflagration  was  spreading,  and 
smoke  came  up  in  volumes  from  all  four  hatchways. 
The  captain  now  ordered  the  lower  decks  to  be 
scuttled,  the  combings  of  the  hatches  to  be  cut,  and 
the  ports  to  be  opened,  so  that  all  the  sea  possible 
might  have  a  free  entry.  Meanwhile  some  of  the 
sick  soldiers,  a  woman  and  several  children,  unable 
to  gain  the  upper  deck,  had  perished. 

As  some  of  the  passengers  went  below  they  met 
one  of  the  mates  staggering  up  the  hatchway,  ex- 
hausted and  almost  senseless.  He  reported  that  he 
had  just  stumbled  over  some  dead  bodies,  who  must 
have  perished  in  the  suffocating  smoke.  With  diffi- 


274  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

culty  the  lower  ports  could  be  opened  owing  to  the 
atmosphere,  but  when  the  passengers  at  last  suc- 
ceeded the  sea  came  pouring  in,  carrying  chests  and 
bulkheads  before  it.  Happily  the  tons  of  water 
which  made  their  way  into  the  hold  checked  the  fury 
of  the  flames  and  decreased  the  possibility  of  ex- 
plosion, which  had  been  the  greatest  fear.  But  now 
the  ship  was  fairly  water-logged,  and  death  from 
explosion  was  apparently  to  give  way  to  death  by 
drowning.  Efforts  were  therefore  made  to  close  the 
ports  again,  and  batten  down  the  hatches  and  stifle 
the  fire.  The  occasion  was  terrifying  in  the  extreme, 
for  it  was  merely  a  question  as  to  how  long  the  grave 
position  could  be  tolerated.  Six  or  seven  hundred 
human  beings  in  the  agony  of  suspense — often  more 
trying  than  physical  pain  itself — were  on  the  upper 
deck.  Some  had  been  suffering  the  pangs  of  sea- 
sickness for  days,  many  had  rushed  up  from  below 
with  no  time  to  slip  on  warm  clothes,  others  were 
seeking  out  husbands,  wives  or  children.  Some  were 
standing  resigned  to  their  fate,  while  others,  as  is 
always  the  case  on  such  occasions,  were  indulging 
in  despair  and  frenzy.  Some  were  saying  their 
prayers,  while  some  of  the  toughest  of  the  soldiers 
and  seamen  took  up  their  positions  immediately  over 
the  magazine  in  the  hope  that  when  the  explosion 
came  at  any  moment  they  might  be  blown  into 
eternity  without  delay.  Every  man,  woman  and 
child  was,  to  use  a  fitting  expression,  "  bump  up 
against  the  inevitable,"  and  everyone  acted  accord- 
ing to  his  or  her  character  in  this  time  of  crisis. 

Meanwhile  the  seas  were  making  game  of  the  ship, 
and  suddenly  the  Kent's  binnacle  broke  away  and 
was  dashed  to  pieces  on  the  deck.  This  was  taken  as 


LIFE  ON  BOARD  275 

a  particularly  bad  omen  by  some,  and  the  end  was 
being  awaited  as  certain.  But  just  then  the  fourth 
mate  decided  to  send  a  man  up  to  the  foretop  in 
case — and  it  was  not  even  a  slender  hope — that  a 
distant  ship  might  be  descried.  With  dramatic 
suddenness  the  man,  after  scanning  the  horizon, 
began  waving  his  hat  and  shouting. 

"  A  sail  on  the  lee  bow !  "  he  exclaimed,  and  the 
announcement  was  received  with  three  cheers.  Flags 
of  distress  were  at  once  hoisted,  minute  guns  began 
to  be  fired,  and  setting  the  three  topsails  and  foresail 
the  Kent  ran  clown  to  the  direction  of  the  stranger. 
This  was  found  to  be  the  brig  Cambria,  of  200  tons 
burthen,  on  her  way  from  Falmouth  to  Vera  Cruz 
with  a  number  of  Cornish  miners  on  board.  After 
the  Kent's  signals  had  been  hoisted  there  followed 
a  further  period  of  suspense.  Had  the  brig  seen  the 
signals  ?  Had  the  sound  of  the  guns  reached  her  in 
the  violence  of  the  gale  ?  But  presently  the  stranger 
was  seen  to  hoist  British  colours  and  to  crowd  on 
all  sail,  in  spite  of  the  gale.  Her  captain  was 
evidently  determined  to  assist  if  he  could. 

There  are  those  who  say  that  the  age  of  miracles 
has  ended,  but  the  good  fortune  of  falling  in  with 
the  Cambria  was  really  far  more  extraordinary  than 
may  seem  to  the  modern  reader.  To-day  the  con- 
tinuous stream  of  traffic  across  the  Bay  of  Biscay — 
liners,  men-of-war,  tramp  steamers  and  a  few  sailing 
ships — is  something  very  considerably  greater  than 
at  the  time  of  which  we  are  speaking.  To-day,  if 
such  an  occurrence  took  place  in  a  ship  bound  for 
India,  there  would  always  be  shipping  in  the  vicinity 
and  wireless  would  summon  assistance  before  very 
long.  But  at  this  time  there  were  no  lines  of  steam- 


276  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

ships  ploughing  their  regular  furrow  across  the  Bay. 
There  were  few  ocean-going  vessels  of  any  sort,  and 
you  might  cross  the  ocean  time  after  time  without 
sighting  another  craft.  It  was  therefore  one  of  those 
rare  instances  that  the  Cambria  should  have  chanced 
to  be  anywhere  in  the  neighbourhood. 

As  the  ships  were  lessening  the  intervening  dis- 
tance, the  Kent's  boats  were  being  got  ready.  The 
ship's  commander  consulted  with  the  colonel  and 
major  of  the  regiment,  and  provision  was  made  to 
prevent  that  dreaded  incident  in  such  a  case  as  this, 
which  has  sometimes  marred  the  whole  picture  of 
self-sacrifice  and  resignation.  Some  of  the  soldiers 
and  seamen  in  the  Kent  seemed  to  give  evidence  of 
being  the  ones  to  rush  the  boats  at  the  first  oppor- 
tunity. To  thwart  this,  some  of  the  military  officers 
stood  over  them  with  drawn  swords,  and  this  had  a 
wholesome  effect. 

The  starboard  boat  was  filled  with  women  and 
children  so  far  as  its  capacity  allowed,  these  people 
getting  into  her  through  the  cuddy-port  on  that  side. 
The  boat  was  then  lowered  away  into  a  sea  that  was 
so  awful  that  it  seemed  impossible  for  the  little 
craft  to  live  many  minutes.  Even  as  it  touched  the 
water  the  usual  difficulty  occurred — and  it  must  have 
been  much  worse  in  those  days  when  there  were  no 
patent  davits  or  disengaging  gear.  The  tackle  was 
unhooked  only  with  difficulty,  and  the  boat  narrowly 
escaped  being  dashed  to  fragments  against  the  great, 
heavy  hull  of  the  Kent.  Over  the  sea  the  people  in 
the  Kent  watched  the  load  of  human  live-?,  now  on 
the  summit  of  a  wave  crest,  now  disappearing  in  the 
trough.  But  at  length,  after  this  further  suspense, 
strong  British  arms  pulled  her  alongside  the  Cam- 


LIFE  ON  BOARD  277 

bria,  and  the  first  human  being  to  be  lifted  into  the 
Cambria  was  an  infant  of  only  a  few  weeks  old. 

The  passage  had  taken  twenty  minutes  between 
the  sinking  and  rescuing  ships,  and  after  this  load 
had  been  received  on  board,  the  other  boat  came  off. 
One  of  the  passengers  in  the  Cambria  who  watched 
the  incident  afterwards  stated  that  the  seas  were  so 
big  that  when  the  two  ships  happened  to  be  in  a 
trough  of  sea  at  the  same  time,  the  Kent,  great  as 
she  was,  could  not  be  seen  for  the  intervening  moun- 
tain wave.  The  Cambria  had  wisely  taken  up  her 
position  some  distance  from  the  Kent,  fearing  that 
if  there  were  an  explosion  she  might  be  badly 
injured.  But  evidently  the  Kent's  boats  on  their 
return  journey  had  to  row  to  windward,  and  this  was 
not  easy.  Owing  to  the  seas  now  running  these  boats 
could  not  come  alongside  the  Kent  again  :  so  the 
women  and  children  had  to  be  tied  together  in 
twos  and  then  lowered  from  the  stern,  the  boat  doing 
its  best  to  be  immediately  underneath  at  the  right 
time.  Everyone  who  has  had  experience  of  the  sea 
knows  how  difficult  this  must  have  been,  and  it 
happened  that  many  of  these  poor  women  were  un- 
willingly ducked  several  times  in  the  sea  before 
being  received  half-drowned  and  half-dead  with 
terror  into  the  boats.  Still,  not  one  of  this  sex  was 
lost  thereby,  though  some  of  the  children  perished 
with  exhaustion  and  shock. 

Some  of  the  soldiers  behaved  with  great  gallantry, 
and  worked  hard  to  save  the  women  and  children, 
to  their  own  danger.  The  Kent  had  six  boats,  but 
three  had  been  swamped  or  stove  in  during  the  trips 
between  the  two  vessels.  All  this  time  the  flames 
were  spreading  worse  than  ever,  and  as  the  daylight 
was  drawing  to  a  close  it  became  a  race  against  time, 


278  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

for  there  were  still  many  passengers  on  board, 
although  many  had  been  taken  off  to  the  Cambria. 
The  Kent's  captain  had  a  rope  made  fast  to  the  outer 
end  of  the  spanker-boom,  and  after  walking  out  to 
the  end  of  this  spar  the  men  had  to  slip  down  by  the 
rope  into  the  remaining  boats  below.  Many  lands- 
men, however,  dreaded  this  means  of  escape  so  much 
that  they  preferred  to  throw  themselves  out  of  the 
stern  windows.  Rafts  were  constructed  out  of  spars, 
hen-coops  and  other  materials,  and  acted  as  a  means 
of  reaching  the  boats.  But  now  night  had  fallen 
over  the  wreck.  Some  of  the  baser  passengers  who 
remained  still  on  board  had  drunk  themselves 
speechless  :  others  were  prowling  about  for  spoil, 
whilst  the  ship's  poultry  and  pigs  were  turning  the 
ship  into  a  mad  farmyard. 

As  the  darkness  came  down  the  work  of  rescue 
was  the  more  difficult.  The  Kent  was  now  sunk  ten 
feet  below  her  marks,  and  squalls  of  wind  and  rain 
together  with  the  big  seas  made  her  hours  of  exist- 
ence fewer.  The  guns  had  burst  their  tackle  owing 
to  the  action  of  the  flames,  and  as  they  fell  into  the 
hold  exploded.  There  were  still  a  few  people  left  in 
the  ship,  including  the  captain,  but  the  latter,  having 
in  vain  tried  to  persuade  the  others  to  leave,  left 
them  too  terror-stricken  and  dumbfounded  to  move. 
Crawling  out  along  the  spanker-boom  and  steadying 
himself  by  the  topping  lift,  he  dived  into  the  sea 
and  was  picked  up  by  one  of  the  boats.  As  the  last 
boat  left  the  side  of  the  Kent,  flames  burst  through 
the  cabin  windows.  Some  of  those  who  had  feared 
to  leave  the  ship  had  also  a  miraculous  escape. 
Driven  by  the  flames,  they  sheltered  as  best  they 
could  on  the  chains  (where  the  rigging  joins  the 
ship's  hull)  and  stood  there  till  the  masts  went  by 


LIFE  ON  BOARD  279 

the  board.  They  then  clung  to  one  of  these  masts 
until  a  ship  named  the  Caroline,  bound  from  Egypt 
to  Liverpool,  saw  the  explosion  when  three  miles 
away  and  made  all  sail  in  its  direction,  and  so  picked 
up  fourteen  survivors.  The  captain  of  the  Caroline 
stood  by  till  daylight,  but  was  unable  to  find  any 
more  people. 

The  magazine  (which  in  East  Indiamen  ships  was 
placed  under  the  forecastle)  had  exploded  about 
1.30  A.M.,  and  portions  of  the  old  East  Indiaman 
that  had  set  forth  so  well  with  a  fair  wind  now  rose 
into  the  air  like  rockets.  As  for  the  survivors  in  the 
Cambria,  they  had  been  hauled  on  board  with  diffi- 
culty by  the  Cornish  miners  standing  in  the  chains 
as  the  heave  of  the  sea  lifted  the  boats  up  to  that 
level.  The  women,  surviving  children  and  men  were 
made  as  comfortable  as  possible,  in  spite  of  the  fact 
that  600  people  in  a  brig  of  only  200  tons  put  a  some- 
what heavy  strain  on  the  accommodation  at  their 
disposal,  with  a  heavy  Atlantic  gale  blowing  too.  In 
a  few  days  all  the  food  and  water  on  board  would 
give  out,  so,  at  the  risk  of  carrying  away  his  masts, 
the  captain  of  the  brig  drove  her  for  all  she  was 
worth  before  the  gale,  so  that  by  the  afternoon  of 
3rd  March  the  Scillies  were  sighted,  and  soon  after 
midnight  the  ship  had  cast  anchor  in  Falmouth  har- 
bour. It  was  another  miracle  that  the  Cambria 
arrived  in  Falmouth  when  she  did,  for  an  hour  after 
she  had  dropped  anchor  the  wind  flew  right  round  to 
north-east  and  remained  there  for  several  days. 
This  would  have  meant  a  head-wind  for  the  brig, 
and  meanwhile  in  this  delay — for  those  bluff  old 
craft  were  very  slow  beating  and  could  not  sail  very 
close — many  of  her  passengers  must  have  died  of 
starvation. 


280  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

At  Falmouth  the  survivors  disembarked,  being 
met  on  the  beach  by  huge  crowds,  and  were  hospit- 
ably received  in  the  houses  of  the  inhabitants,  who 
also  got  up  a  subscription  for  the  relief  of  the 
sufferers.  A  service  of  thanksgiving  was  held,  and 
a  few  days  later  the  passengers  and  sailors  were  sent 
to  their  homes,  the  troops  embarking  for  Chatham, 
while  the  sick  and  injured  remained  in  hospital. 
Notwithstanding  that  about  six  hundred  had  been 
saved,  yet  eighty-two  had  perished  in  this  disaster. 
Some  of  the  seamen  belonging  to  the  Kent  had 
certainly  behaved  in  a  cowardly  manner  by  refusing 
to  go  back  and  fetch  the  remainder  of  their  ship- 
mates until  they  were  compelled  by  the  captain  of 
the  Cambria.  It  is  such  instances  as  these  which 
make  one  wonder  whether  those  rough  characters 
were  always  as  brave  as  we  have  preferred  to  hope 
they  were. 

The  captain  of  the  Cambria  for  his  fine  seaman- 
ship and  the  excellent  manner  in  which  he  directed 
the  rescue  was  awarded  the  sum  of  ^150  from  the 
War  Office,  with  smaller  sums  to  the  mate,  crew  and 
miners.  The  East  India  Company,  in  compensation 
for  the  losses  and  expenses  caused  by  this  rescue, 
sent  the  sum  of  ^287,  us.  to  the  captain  of  the 
Cambria  for  payment  of  the  bill  of  provisions, 
^287,  IDS.  on  account  of  the  owners  for  the  food  of 
the  passengers,  and  ^300  for  demurrage.  In  addi- 
tion, they  presented  the  Cambria's  captain  with  the 
sum  of  ;£6oo,  the  first  mate  £  100,  and  varying  sums 
to  the  crew  and  miners.  Other  presents  were  also 
made  by  Lloyd's,  the  Royal  Humane  Society,  the 
Royal  Exchange  Assurance,  and  the  Liverpool 
underwriters. 


CHAPTER    XIX 

THE  COMPANY'S  NAVAL  SERVICE 

PRIMARILY,  of  course,  the  East  Indiamen  were  built 
fitted  out  and  manned  for  the  purpose  of  trade  :  but 
owing  to  circumstances  they  were  compelled  to 
engage  in  hostilities  both  offensive  and  defensive. 
The  result  was  that  these  ships  figured  in  more  fights 
than  any  essentially  mercantile  ships  (as  distinct 
from  pirates,  privateers  and  other  sea-rovers)  that 
have  ever  been  built. 

It  is  necessary  at  the  outset  to  distinguish  care- 
fully between  what  became  known  subsequently  as 
the  Indian  Navy  and  the  Company's  merchant  ships. 
The  former  existed  to  protect  the  latter,  by  suppress- 
ing both  local  and  nomadic  pirates  of  all  kinds, 
by  convoying  East  Indiamen  and  even  carrying 
troops  when  necessary,  and  by  performing  other 
duties,  such  as  surveying,  in  addition  to  existing  as 
a  defence  against  any  aggressive  projects  of  rival 
nations.  The  Indian  Navy  evolved  from  the  Bom- 
bay Marine.  It  is  not  necessary  to  recapitulate  the 
history  of  the  East  India  Company  and  the  rise  of 
its  mercantile  fleet :  it  is  sufficient  to  state  that  with 
the  establishment  of  factories  on  shore  and  the  pass- 
ing and  repassing  of  valuable  freights  over  seas 
frequented  by  hostile  ships  some  sort  of  local  force 
281 


282  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

was  essential.  The  Portuguese  had  their  Indian 
Navy,  consisting  of  large,  ocean-going  vessels  and 
small-draught  craft  for  operating  in  shallow  local 
waters,  the  crews  being  composed  of  Portuguese, 
slaves  and  Hindoos.  It  was  therefore  natural 
enough  that  the  English  should  soon  find  it  neces- 
sary to  fit  out  ships  capable  of  meeting  the  enemy 
on  a  fairly  even  basis.  Furthermore,  the  Bombay 
trade  had  been  so  much  interfered  with  by  the  attacks 
from  Malabar  pirates  that  it  became  essential  to 
build  small  armed  vessels  to  protect  merchant  craft. 
The  result  was  that  Warwick  Pett,  of  that  famous 
shipbuilding  family  which  had  been  building  vessels 
in  England  from  the  early  Tudor  times,  was  sent 
out  in  the  seventeenth  century  to  Bombay  to 
construct  suitable  ships.  Local  craft  were  also 
employed,  and  very  useful  they  were  found  in 
negotiating  shallow  waters.* 

Throughout  most  of  the  seventeenth  and  eigh- 
teenth centuries  the  East  India  Company's  cruisers 
were  kept  actively  employed  in  suppressing  the 
native  pirates  who  roamed  the  Indian  Ocean  and 
attacked  with  great  daring  and  ingenuity.  They 
hung  about  off  the  entrance  to  the  Red  Sea,  found 
a  snug  base  near  the  Straits  of  Bab-el-Mandeb, 
strengthened  it  with  fortifications  for  the  protection 
of  themselves  and  their  shipping,  and  eventually 
moved  to  Madagascar,  which  was  to  be  a  famous 
base  for  those  notorious  eighteenth-century  pirates 
of  European  and  North  American  origin,  whose 
names  are  familiar  to  most  schoolboys. 

The  year   1697  was  marked  by  attacks  on  the 

*  I  wish  to  acknowledge  my  indebtedness  in  this  chapter  to 
Captain  Rathbone  Low's  "  History  of  the  Indian  Navy." 


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PC  < 


THE  COMPANY'S  NAVAL  SERVICE        283 

Company's  ships,  not  merely  by  pirates,  but  by  the 
French.  Three  of  these  East  Indiamen  were 
attacked,  plundered  and  burned  by  pirate  craft  fly- 
ing English  colours.  Two  more  of  the  Company's 
ships  were  captured  by  the  French,  so  things  were 
serious  enough.  The  matter  was  reported  to  Eng- 
land, and  a  squadron  of  four  well-armed  ships  was 
accordingly  sent  out  to  extirpate  these  robbers  of 
the  sea.  In  fact,  the  pirate  problem  became  so 
great  that  by  a  mutual  agreement  the  English, 
French  and  Dutch  eventually  agreed  to  an  arrange- 
ment for  policing  the  Eastern  seas  for  the  purpose 
of  destroying  their  common  foe.  Thus  the  English 
looked  after  the  southern  Indian  Ocean,  the  Dutch 
were  responsible  for  the  Red  Sea,  and  the  French 
for  the  Persian  Gulf. 

The  English  Indian  Marine  had  sometimes  to  be 
strengthened  by  seamen  from  the  Company's  mer- 
chant ships,  and  very  gallant  fighters  they  proved 
themselves  to  be.  Arabian  pirates  roamed  about 
over  the  whole  of  the  Indian  seas,  and  having 
become  emboldened  with  success  actually  built  more 
ships  and  formed  what  was  in  fact  a  navy  of  their 
own.  Their  ships  were  well  armed  and  their  men 
were  excellent  both  as  seamen  and  fighters,  and  as 
soon  as  ever  the  English  men-of-war  moved  off, 
these  pirates,  swooping  down  on  coast  or  ship,  would 
act  as  they  liked. 

After  the  occupation  by  the  English  of  Bombay 
and  that  island  becoming  a  presidency,  the  naval 
force  there  developed  under  the  name  of  the  Bombay 
Marine,  under  the  command  of  an  admiral,  drafts 
of  officers  and  men  being  obtained  from  ships 
arriving  from  Europe.  For  years  this  service  had 


284  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

indeed  fought  against  privateers,  pirates,  Portuguese, 
Dutch  and  French,  to  defend  both  ships  and  fac- 
tories of  the  Company.  In  a  smaller,  but  still  an 
important,  degree  they  had  been  called  upon  also  to 
keep  out  those  interloping  English  ships  which  had 
no  lawful  right  to  trade  with  India.  Looking  back 
through  the  first  century  of  the  Company's  existence, 
its  ships  had  captured  the  Island  of  St  Helena  in 
1601.  Eight  years  later  the  Solomon  had  defeated 
several  Portuguese  ships.  In  1612  the  Company's 
fleet  had  again  defeated  the  Portuguese  fleet  in 
India,  and  the  year  after  this  incident  had  been 
repeated.  In  1616  a  valuable  Portuguese  frigate 
had  been  taken  and  the  Dutch  severely  defeated 
at  Batavia.  Four  of  the  Company's  ships  in  1619 
and  1620  defeated  yet  another  Portuguese  fleet. 
The  capture  of  Ormuz  in  1622  had  been  made  by 
the  Company's  fleet  acting  with  the  King  of  Persia's 
forces.  In  1635  Bombay  had  been  recaptured  by 
the  Company's  fleet,  but  it  was  not  till  1662  that 
England  sent  out  men-of-war  to  India  for  the  pro- 
tection of  the  Company's  interests.  Therefore, 
during  its  first  sixty  years  the  Company  had  to  act 
both  as  merchants  and  a  naval  power  without  any 
external  aid,  such  as  trade  had  a  right  to  demand. 

If  the  Bombay  Marine  was  distinctly  a  small 
service  as  regards  numbers,  it  was  certainly  very 
gallant,  and  many  a  fine  incident  bright  with  bravery 
and  daring  belongs  to  its  history.  During  the  war 
with  France  a  number  of  ships  belonging  to  the 
Bombay  Marine  were  attached  to  the  Royal  Navy 
on  service  in  the  waters  that  wash  the  coasts  of  India, 
and  rendered  good  service  in  this  capacity.  For 
although  the  real  theatre  of  war  between  England 


THE  COMPANY'S  NAVAL  SERVICE        285 

and  France  was  not  in  the  Orient,  yet  some  severe, 
if  indecisive,  engagements  were  here  fought,  and  the 
Company's  ships,  if  smaller  in  size,  were  a  valuable 
form  of  assistance.  About  the  middle  of  the  eigh- 
teenth century  the  Marine  consisted  of  about  twenty 
ships,  and  these  were  essential  for  protecting  the 
progress  of  the  mercantile  East  Indiamen,  for  with- 
out such  convoys  it  was  impossible  for  those  rich 
freights  ever  to  have  traversed  the  Indian  Ocean. 
It  was  the  Bombay  Marine,  also,  who  made  surveys 
of  part  of  the  Arabian,  Persian,  the  west  coast  of 
Media  and  other  coasts,  and  all  this  was  to  be  for 
the  benefit  of  navigation  and  trade  generally. 

By  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century  the 
Bombay  Marine  consisted  of  a  couple  of  frigates, 
three  sloops-of-war,  fourteen  brigs,  in  addition  to 
prizes  and  vessels  specially  purchased  for  the  ser- 
vice, and  a  few  years  before  that,  when  Napoleon 
was  contemplating  his  big  scheme  in  connection  with 
Egypt,  which  was  to  be  the  stepping-stone  to  India, 
a  naval  force  was  sent  from  England  to  cruise  in  the 
Red  Sea.  But,  as  everyone  now  knows,  the  Battle 
of  the  Nile  prevented  these  vessels  from  having  any 
serious  work  to  perform.  And  when  eventually 
hostilities  were  resumed,  the  Bombay  Marine  had  to 
protect  the  trade  in  the  Bay  of  Bengal.  This  they 
did  with  such  thoroughness  that  British  merchant 
ships  were  singularly  free  from  capture.  In  spite  of 
the  opposition  in  some  quarters,  and  the  prejudice 
against  India-built  ships,  some  of  the  biggest  vessels 
of  the  Bombay  Marine  were  built  in  India,  and 
excellent  craft  they  proved  themselves  to  be. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  incidents  connected 
with  the  Bombay  Marine  during  the  early  part  of 


286  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

the  nineteenth  century  was  that  in  which  the  Morn- 
ington  sloop-of-war  figures  conspicuously.  The 
French  privateers,  especially  La  Confiance  (of 
which  we  spoke  on  an  earlier  page)  and  U  Eugenie, 
were  most  harassing  to  any  craft  navigating  the 
vicinity  of  the  East  Indian  coast.  The  commander 
of  the  Mornington  was  Captain  Frost,  and  he  was 
determined  to  bring  L? Eugenie  to  book.  For  a  time 
the  latter  evaded  him,  and  he  then  hit  upon  a  smart 
idea.  He  succeeded  in  altering  the  Mornington's 
appearance  so  that  even  her  own  builder  would 
scarcely  have  recognised  her.  In  order  to  prevent 
any  suspicion  of  her  seeming  a  warship,  Captain 
Frost  added  to  his  ship  a  false  poop,  so  that  she 
looked  just  like  a  country  ship.  He  changed  also 
the  painting  of  the  hull  and  added  patches  of  dirty 
old  canvas  to  the  sails,  and  after  a  while  she  seemed 
to  be  anything  but  the  smart  sloop-of-war  which  she 
really  was. 

When  this  transformation  had  been  completed,  the 
Mornington  took  up  her  position  to  cruise  about  the 
track  where  the  French  ship  was  likely  to  be  hover- 
ing, and  before  long  the  look-out  aloft  espied  the 
privateer.  The  Mornington  then  continued  her 
game  of  bluff  and  altered  her  course  as  if  she  was 
anxious  to  get  away  from  the  Frenchman.  The 
latter,  unsuspecting,  began  to  work  up  towards  the 
English  ship,  and  by  sunset  was  getting  quite  near. 
After  darkness  had  fallen  the  Mornington  ran  under 
easy  sail,  and  presently  the  Frenchman  hailed,  ask- 
ing the  ship's  name,  ordering  them  to  heave-to.  Too 
late  the  privateer  discovered  that  he  had  been  en- 
snared and  fired  into  the  Mornington,  mortally 
wounding  a  seaman  and  injuring  the  running  gear. 


THE  COMPANY'S  NAVAL  SERVICE        287 

Captain  Frost  now  determined  to  injure  the  enemy's 
rigging  and  sails  aloft,  and  thus  cripple  him  to  such  an 
extent  that  U  Eugenie  would  not  be  able  to  get  the 
windward  berth.  So  chasing  him  he  blazed  away  at 
the  Frenchman.  It  was  an  exciting  chase  and  lasted 
for  three  hours.  So  anxious  was  the  privateer  to 
escape  that  she  threw  overboard  guns  and  boats  and 
spars  as  she  went :  but  at  the  end  of  this  time  the 
Mornington  had  come  up  alongside  and  the  French- 
man's captain  hailed  and  begged  the  Englishman  to 
cease  firing  as  they  had  surrendered.  Very  shortly 
the  privateer  became  an  English  prize,  though  she 
was  found  to  be  so  crippled  that  she  could  not  beat 
to  windward.  But  it  was  a  great  relief  when  the 
news  reached  India  that  this  mosquito  craft  had 
been  taken  away  from  any  further  possibility  of 
preying  on  the  peaceful  merchant  ships;  and  by  the 
irony  of  events  she  who  had  formerly  spent  her 
time  in  attacking  these  trading  craft  was  now  to 
become  their  protector,  for  the  Government  added 
her  to  the  service  and  the  command  was  given  to  the 
senior  lieutenant  of  the  Mornington. 

The  Bombay  dockyard  by  the  end  of  the  second 
decade  of  the  nineteenth  century  was  building  such 
big  warships  as  a  '74  and  '84  gun  line-of-battle 
ship,  the  latter  being  of  2289  tons.  Other  big 
warships  were  also  being  constructed,  and  even  those 
most  conservative  of  sailormen  who  had  always 
believed  exclusively  in  oak  were  able  after  trial  to 
concede  that  better  ships  than  these  Indian  teak 
craft  could  not  be  desired.  And  the  men  and  officers 
were  like  their  ships.  Continuously  they  seemed  to 
be  subject  to  service,  and  always  they  came  through 
it  well.  French  and  Dutch,  pirates  of  the  Indian 


288  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

Ocean  or  the  Persian  Gulf,  privateers  of  France, 
England  or  America,  it  was  much  the  same;  the 
Bombay  Marine  had  to  do  its  work,  being  hurried 
here  and  there  to  fight  and  conquer.  And  when  the 
short  intervals  of  respite  occurred  these  hard-worked 
people  took  up  again  their  surveying  duties  between 
those  distant  regions  of  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope 
and  the  Sea  of  Japan  and  northwards  to  the  Red 
Sea  and  the  Persian  Gulf.  At  the  close  of  the 
Burmese  War  the  officers  and  men  of  the  Bombay 
Marine  received  the  thanks  of  both  Houses  of 
Parliament,  for  no  fewer  than  five  of  the  Company's 
cruisers  had  served  throughout  the  campaign. 

But  the  time  was  at  hand  for  a  series  of  changes 
in  the  Bombay  Marine.  First  of  all  we  must  call 
attention  to  the  law  passed  in  the  year  1826  by  which 
it  was  decreed  that  henceforth  any  naval  force  that 
was  sent  out  from  England  by  his  Majesty  to  the 
East  Indies  on  the  representation  of  the  East  India 
Company's  Court  of  Directors,  for  the  purpose  of 
hostilities  against  native  powers,  was  to  be  paid  for 
by  the  Company.  The  Marine  Board  which  con- 
trolled this  Company's  naval  force  consisted  of  the 
Superintendent,  the  Master-Attendant,  the  Com- 
modore of  the  Harbour  and  the  senior  captain.  To 
be  Commodore  at  Surat  or  in  the  Persian  Gulf,  or 
Master-Attendant  at  Calcutta  was  also  to  enjoy  one 
of  the  plums  of  the  service  reserved  for  those  who 
had  served  long  years.  But  after  twenty-two  years' 
service  an  officer  could  retire  with  the  following 
pay:- 

Master-Attendant  and  Commodore  ^45°  a  year 
Captain  of  the  First  Class        .  360      „ 

Captain  of  the  Second  Class    .         .         270      „ 
First  Lieutenant  .  180      ,, 


THE  COMPANY'S  NAVAL  SERVICE        289 

If  an  officer  were  to  retire  after  ten  years'  service, 
owing  to  ill-health,  he  was  granted  one-half  of  the 
above  allowance.  But  except  from  the  cause  of 
ill-health  no  officer  was  allowed  to  come  home  on 
furlough  under  ten  years. 

During  the  year  1827  the  whole  condition  of  the 
Bombay  Marine  was  inquired  into,  and  as  a  result 
the  service  was  changed  from  a  Marine  established 
purely  for  war  purposes  into  something  of  a  curious 
character.  The  officers  were  embodied  into  a  regi- 
ment called  the  Marine  Corps,  and  a  regular  packet 
service  was  established.  The  larger  warships  of  the 
service  were  made  more  efficient,  new  ships  were 
added,  and  a  uniform  approximating  more  to  that 
of  the  Royal  Navy  was  sanctioned.  Finally,  from 
the  ist  of  May  1830  the  Bombay  Marine  was 
changed  to  the  Indian  Navy,  and  this  in  turn  came 
to  an  end  in  the  year  1863.  Beginning  as  an  adjunct 
of  the  East  India  Company  it  rendered  a  varied 
and  important  series  of  services  during  a  period 
extending  over  two  and  a  half  centuries.  It  had 
combated  the  hostility  of  the  Portuguese  and  Dutch 
in  those  early  days  when  the  English  Company  was 
struggling  to  get  a  secure  foothold  in  India.  It  had 
made  history  along  the  Persian  Gulf,  it  had  inflicted 
punishment  on  privateers  and  pirates,  it  had  pro- 
tected the  mercantile  East  Indiamen,  it  had  assisted 
the  British  navy  wrestling  with  the  French  foe  in 
the  Orient.  The  Company's  cruisers  were,  in  fact, 
excellent  fighting  ships  for  their  size,  commanded  by 
gallant  officers  and  well  manned  by  able  crews.  And 
when  at  last  this  service  was  abolished,  many  were 
the  indignant  outcries  against  such  a  step.  How- 
ever, it  had  long  survived  the  existence  of  the  Com- 


290  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

party's  maritime  service,  both  as  regards  India  and 
China,  and  a  new  order  of  things  in  India  had 
already  begun  to  be  inaugurated.  The  story  of  the 
East  India  Company's  navy,  as  distinct  from  its 
maritime  or  mercantile  service,  is  that  of  a  compara- 
tively small  force  doing  wonders  for  two  and  a  half 
centuries,  showing  great  gallantry,  enterprise,  and 
enduring  much  hardship.  Its  last  years  were  con- 
spicuously marked  by  red  tape,  yet  the  time  had 
clearly  come  for  a  change,  and  the  last  link  was 
snapped  that  had  connected  the  old  East  Indiamen 
of  historic  memory  with  the  period  of  steamships 
and  the  modern  men-of-war.  Sentiment  is  an 
excellent  thing  in  its  way,  and  one  of  the  undoubted 
forces  of  the  world,  yet  when  it  comes  into  collision 
with  efficiency  it  is  not  the  latter  which  must  give 
way.  To-day  the  Royal  Indian  Marine  contains 
just  as  gallant  and  able  a  personnel  as  in  the  past, 
and  the  name  of  Lieutenant  Bowers  of  this  service, 
who  died  in  Captain  Scott's  expedition  to  the  South 
Pole,  will  at  once  be  remembered. 


CHAPTER  XX 

OFFENCE  AND  DEFENCE 

WE  have  made  reference  during  the  course  of  our 
story  to  the  grave  risks  which  were  run  by  the  mer- 
cantile East  Indiamen  in  regard  to  pirates  and  priva- 
teers. It  will  now  be  our  duty  to  give  some  instances 
of  these  and  to  show  that  if  the  captains  and  officers 
of  the  Company's  ships  received  big  rewards  for 
their  few  voyages,  they  were  certainly  entitled  to  a 
high  rate  of  remuneration  considering  the  dangers 
which  had  to  be  encountered  as  regards  ships, 
cargoes  and  human  lives.  The  very  essential  basis 
of  overseas  trade  is  that  trade-carriers  shall  be  able 
to  go  about  their  lawful  business  with  some  certainty 
of  not  being  attacked  on  the  way.  To-day,  if  a  war 
broke  out  between  our  own  and  some  other  country 
possessing  a  navy,  the  merchant  ships  would  be  so 
endangered  that  they  would  either  have  to  remain  in 
port  or  else  wait  till  our  cruisers  could  convoy  them. 

To  a  certain  extent  this  happened  in  the  time 
when  the  East  Indiamen  flourished.  But  some  say 
that  to-day  privateering  could  not  be  revived,  and 
in  any  case  piracy,  if  not  quite  dead  in  the  East  (and 
for  that  matter  off  the  north  coast  of  Africa),  has 
been  so  heavily  crushed,  thanks  to  the  good  work 
of  the  Royal  Navy,  that  it  would  not  avail  much 
291 


292  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

against  our  big  modern  liners  and  freight-carriers. 
But  in  the  days  with  which  this  present  volume  is 
concerned,  piracy  was  a  very  real,  flourishing  con- 
cern :  and  quite  apart  from  all  the  long-drawn-out 
hostilities  between  our  country  and  other  powers  this 
remained  an  eternal  source  of  anxiety  to  an  East 
Indiaman  captain.  If  he  could  not  meet  the  pirate 
on  an  equal  footing  the  end  would  come  quickly  and 
decisively,  for  the  pirate  captains  were  often  enough 
of  British  origin  and  just  as  fine  seamen  and  fighters 
as  any  in  the  employ  of  the  East  India  Company. 

Take  the  case  of  Captain  John  Bowen,  who  about 
the  year  1700  used  to  cruise  over  the  Indian  Ocean 
between  the  Malabar  coast  and  Madagascar,  making 
piracy  his  serious  trade.  One  day  he  fell  in  with 
an  English  East  Indiaman  homeward  bound  from 
Bengal  under  the  command  of  a  Captain  Conway. 
In  a  very  short  space  of  time  she  had  been  over- 
come, made  a  prize  of,  taken  into  port,  and  both  her 
hull  and  her  cargo  put  up  for  sale  to  the  highest 
bidders,  which  consisted  of  three  merchants  glad  to 
obtain  the  spoil  at  their  own  price.  A  little  later  on 
the  East  Indiaman  Pembroke,  having  put  into  May- 
otta  for  water,  and  being  promptly  boarded  by  the 
boats  of  the  pirates,  whose  men  killed  the  chief  mate 
and  one  seaman,  the  ship  was  taken.  Some  idea  of 
the  experiences  which  beset  the  East  Indiamen  may 
be  gathered  from  a  letter  dated  from  Bombay  on 
1 6th  November  1720  by  a  certain  Captain  Mackra, 
who  was  in  command  of  one  of  the  Company's  ships. 

"  We  arrived  on  the  25th  of  July  last,"  he  writes, 
"  in  company  with  the  Greenwich,  at  Juanna,  an 
island  not  far  from  Madagascar.  Putting  in  there 
to  refresh  our  men  we  found  fourteen  pirates  who 


OFFENCE  AND  DEFENCE       293 

came  in  their  canoes  from  the  Mayotta,  where  the 
pirate  ship  to  which  they  belonged,  viz,  the  Indian 
Queen,  two  hundred  and  fifty  tons,  twenty-eight 
guns,  and  ninety  men,  commanded  by  Captain 
Oliver  de  la  Bouche  bound  from  the  Guinea  Coast 
to  the  East  Indies  had  been  bulged  [i.e.  "bilged"], 
had  been  lost.  They  said  they  left  the  captain  and 
forty  of  their  men  building  a  new  vessel  to  proceed 
on  their  wicked  designs.  Captain  Kirby  and  I  con- 
cluding that  it  might  be  of  great  service  to  the  East 
Indian  Company  to  destroy  such  a  nest  of  rogues, 
were  ready  to  sail  for  that  purpose  on  the  I7th  of 
August,  about  eight  o'clock  in  the  morning,  when 
we  discovered  two  pirates  standing  into  the  bay  of 
Juanna,  one  of  thirty-four,  and  the  other  of  thirty- 
six  guns.  I  immediately  went  on  board  the  Green- 
wich, where  they  seemed  very  diligent  in  preparation 
for  an  engagement,  and  I  left  Captain  Kirby  with 
mutual  promises  of  standing  by  each  other.  I  then 
unmoored,  got  under  sail,  and  brought  two  boats 
ahead  to  row  me  close  to  the  Greenwich  :  but  he 
being  open  to  a  valley  and  a  breeze,  made  the  best 
of  his  way  from  me  :  which  an  Ostender  *  in  our 
company,  of  twenty-two  guns,  seeing,  did  the  same, 
though  the  captain  had  promised  heartily  to  engage 
with  us,  and  I  believe  would  have  been  as  good  as 
his  word,  if  Captain  Kirby  had  kept  his.  About 
half-an-hour  after  twelve,  I  called  several  times  to 
the  Greenwich  to  bear  down  to  our  assistance,  and 
fired  a  shot  at  him,  but  to  no  purpose  :  for  though 
we  did  not  doubt  but  he  would  join  us  because,  when 
he  got  about  a  league  from  us  he  brought  his  ship 

*  That  is  to  say  a  ship  belonging  to  the  Ostend  East  India 
Company. 


294  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

to  and  looked  on,  yet  both  he  and  the  Ostender 
basely  deserted  us,  and  left  us  engaged  with  bar- 
barous and  inhuman  enemies,  with  their  black  and 
bloody  flags  hanging  over  us,  without  the  least 
appearance  of  ever  escaping,  but  to  be  cut  to  pieces. 
But  God,  in  his  good  providence,  determined  other- 
wise :  for  notwithstanding  their  superiority,  we  en- 
gaged them  both  about  three  hours  :  during  which 
time  the  biggest  of  them  received  some  shot  betwixt 
wind  and  water,  which  made  her  keep  off  a  little  to 
stop  her  leaks.  The  other  endeavoured  all  she  could 
to  board  us,  by  rowing  with  her  oars,  being  within 
half  a  ship's  length  of  us  above  an  hour  :  but  by 
good  fortune  we  shot  all  her  oars  to  pieces,  which 
prevented  them,  and  by  consequence  saved  our 
lives. 

"  About  four  o'clock  most  of  the  officers  and  men 
posted  on  the  quarter-deck  being  killed  and 
wounded,  the  largest  ship  making  up  to  us  with 
diligence,  being  still  within  a  cable's  length  of  us, 
often  giving  us  a  broadside,  there  being  now  no 
hopes  of  Capt.  Kirby  coming  to  our  assistance,  we 
endeavoured  to  run  ashore  :  and  though  we  drew 
four  feet  more  of  water  than  the  pirate,  it  pleased 
God  that  he  struck  on  a  higher  ground  than  happily 
we  fell  in  with  :  so  was  disappointed  a  second  time 
from  boarding  us.  Here  we  had  a  more  violent 
engagement  than  before  :  all  my  officers  and  most  of 
my  men  behaved  with  unexpected  courage  :  and,  as 
we  had  a  considerable  advantage  by  having  a  broad- 
side to  his  bow,  we  did  him  great  damage  :  so,  that 
had  Captain  Kirby  come  in  then,  I  believe  we 
should  have  taken  both  the  vessels,  for  we  had  one 
of  them  sure  :  but  the  other  pirate  (who  was  still 


1   I 


OFFENCE  AND  DEFENCE       295 

firing  at  us)  seeing  the  Greenwich  did  not  offer  to 
assist  us,  supplied  his  consort  with  three  boats  full 
of  fresh  men.  About  five  in  the  evening  the  Green- 
wich stood  clear  away  to  sea,  leaving  us  struggling 
hard  for  life,  in  the  very  jaws  of  death  :  which  the 
other  pirate  that  was  afloat  seeing,  got  a  warp  out, 
and  was  hauling  under  our  stern. 

"  By  this  time  many  of  my  men  being  killed  and 
wounded,  and  no  hopes  left  us  of  escaping  being 
all  murdered  by  enraged  barbarous  conquerors,  I 
ordered  all  that  could  to  get  into  the  long-boat,  under 
the  cover  of  the  smoke  of  our  guns  :  so  that,  with 
what  some  did  in  boats,  and  others  by  swimming, 
most  of  us  that  were  able  got  ashore  by  seven  o'clock. 
When  the  pirates  came  aboard,  they  cut  three  of  our 
wounded  men  to  pieces.  I  with  some  of  my  people 
made  what  haste  I  could  to  King's  town,  twenty-five 
miles  from  us,  where  I  arrived  next  day,  almost  dead 
with  the  fatigue  and  loss  of  blood,  having  been 
sorely  wounded  in  the  head  by  a  musket-ball. 

"  At  this  town  I  heard  that  the  pirates  had  offered 
ten  thousand  dollars  to  the  country  people  to  bring 
me  in,  which  many  of  them  would  have-  accepted, 
only  they  knew  the  king  and  all  his  chief  people  were 
in  my  interest.  Meantime  I  caused  a  report  to  be 
circulated  that  I  was  dead  of  my  wounds,  which 
much  abated  their  fury.  About  ten  days  after,  being 
pretty  well  recovered,  and  hoping  the  malice  of  our 
enemy  was  near  over,  I  began  to  consider  the  dismal 
condition  we  were  reduced  to  :  being  in  a  place  where 
we  had  no  hopes  of  getting  a  passage  home,  all  of 
us  in  a  manner  naked,  not  having  had  time  to  bring 
with  us  either  a  shirt  or  a  pair  of  shoes,  except  what 
we  had  on.  Having  obtained  leave  to  go  on  board 


296  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

the  pirates  with  a  promise  of  safety,  several  of  the 
chief  of  them  knew  me,  and  some  of  them  had  sailed 
with  me,  which  I  found  to  be  of  great  advantage; 
because,  notwithstanding  their  promise,  some  of 
them  would  have  cut  me  to  pieces,  and  all  that  would 
not  enter  with  them,  had  it  not  been  for  their  chief 
captain,  Edward  England,  and  some  others  whom  I 
knew.  They  talked  of  burning  one  of  their  ships, 
which  we  had  so  entirely  disabled  as  to  be  no  farther 
useful  to  them,  and  to  fit  the  Cassandra  in  her  room. 
But  in  the  end  I  managed  the  affair  so  well,  that  they 
made  me  a  present  of  the  said  shattered  ship,  which 
was  Dutch  built,  and  called  the  Fancy  :  her  burden 
was  about  three  hundred  tons.  I  procured  also  a 
hundred  and  twenty-nine  bales  of  the  Company's 
cloth,  though  they  would  not  give  me  a  rag  of  my 
own  clothes. 

"  They  sailed  on  the  3rd  of  September :  and  I, 
with  the  jury  masts,  and  such  old  sails  as  they  left 
me,  made  a  shift  to  do  the  like  on  the  8th,  together 
with  forty-three  of  my  ship's  crew,  including  two 
passengers  and  twelve  soldiers  :  having  no  more 
than  five  tuns  of  water  aboard.  After  a  passage  of 
forty-eight  days,  I  arrived  here  on  the  26th  of 
October,  almost  naked  and  starved,  having  been 
reduced  to  a  pint  of  water  a  day,  and  almost  in 
"despair  of  ever  seeing  land,  by  reason  of  the  calms 
we  met  with  between  the  coast  of  Arabia  and 
Malabar. 

"  We  had  in  all  thirteen  men  killed  and  twenty- 
four  wounded  :  and  we  were  told  that  we  destroyed 
about  ninety  or  a  hundred  of  the  pirates.  When  they 
left  us,  there  were  about  three  hundred  whites  and 
eight  blacks  in  both  ships.  I  am  persuaded  had  our 


OFFENCE  AND  DEFENCE       297 

consort  of  the  Greenwich  done  his  duty,  we  had 
destroyed  both  of  them,  and  got  two  hundred 
thousand  pounds  for  our  owners  and  selves :  where- 
as the  loss  of  the  Cassandra  may  justly  be  imputed 
to  his  deserting  us.  I  have  delivered  all  the  bales 
that  were  given  me  into  the  company's  warehouse, 
for  which  the  governor  and  council  have  ordered  me 
a  reward.  Our  governor,  Mr  Boon,  who  is  extremely 
kind  and  civil  to  me,  had  ordered  me  home  with  the 
packet :  but  Captain  Harvey  who  had  a  prior 
promise,  being  come  in  with  the  fleet,  goes  in  my 
room.  The  governor  had  promised  me  a  country 
voyage  to  help  to  make  up  my  losses,  and  would 
have  me  stay  and  accompany  him  to  England  next 
year." 

This  Captain  England  was  a  notorious  sea-pirate 
and  had  made  many  a  capture  of  an  innocent  mer- 
chant ship,  and  now  commanded  the  Victory,  which 
as  the  Peterborough  he  had  previously  captured. 
He  used  Madagascar  as  his  base  for  attacking  East 
Indiamen,  though  he  had  sailed  into  most  of  the  seas 
of  the  world  on  the  look-out  for  his  victims.  It  was 
only  after  remaining  a  short  time  at  Madagascar  that 
they  had  proceed  to  Juanna  and  fallen  in  with  the 
two  English  East  Indiamen  and  one  Ostender. 
Captain  Mackra  was  certainly  lucky  to  have  got  off 
with  his  life  and  also  with  even  a  crippled  ship  to 
reach  India.  But  England,  villain  that  he  was, 
respected  Mackra  as  a  brave  seaman,  and  with  diffi- 
culty succeeded  in  restraining  the  pirate  crew  from 
exhausting  their  fury  upon  the  East  Indiaman 
captain.  In  fact  this  generosity  towards  Mackra 
was  eventually  the  undoing  of  England,  for  the  crew 
considered  the  treatment  had  not  been  in  accordance 


298  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

with  the  severe  traditions  of  pirates,  and  England 
was  deprived  of  his  command. 

Captains  of  the  East  Indiamen  had  to  be  masters 
of  resource  no  less  than  able  tacticians  and  ship- 
masters.   In  the  month  of  January  1797  the  French 
R ear-Admiral  Sercey  was  splendidly  outwitted  by 
the  captain  of  one  of  the  East  India  Company's 
merchant  ships.    It  happened  on  this  wise.    Admiral 
Sercey  was  commanding  a  squadron  of  six  frigates 
and  was  returning  to  the  Isle  of  France.    When  he 
was   off  the   east   end   of   Java   he   descried   what 
appeared  to  be  a  considerable  force,  and  before  the 
day  had  ended  counted  himself  very  fortunate  to 
have    escaped   them.      That,    indeed,   was   how   it 
appeared  to  him.     But  looked  at  from  the  opposite 
point   of   view  we   have   to   consider   half-a-dozen 
homeward-bound  East  Indiamen  all  richly  laden,  and 
not  one  of  them  a  warship.    The  commodore  of  this 
merchant  squadron  was  Captain  Charles  Lennox, 
whose  ship  was  the  Woodford.    On  the  morning  of 
the  day  mentioned  he  was  alarmed  to  see  Admiral 
Sercey's  frigate  squadron  and  feared  for  the  safety 
of  the  Indiamen  under  his  own  charge,     Here  was 
a  dilemma  indeed.     These  six  merchantmen  were 
not  the  equal  of  the  six  frigates  in  a  fight :  therefore 
an  engagement  must  be  avoided.    But,  on  the  other 
hand,  if  the  merchantmen  attempted  to  crowd  on  all 
sail  and  run  away  this  would  be  an  admission  of 
inferior  strength  and  the  Frenchman  would  be  bound 
to  attack  at  once. 

So  with  much  ingenuity  Lennox  devised  a  piece 
of  bluff.  In  order  to  deceive  Sercey,  the  English 
commodore  hoisted  the  blue  flag  of  the  French  Rear- 
Admiral  Rainier  at  the  mizen,  and  made  all  the 


OFFENCE  AND  DEFENCE       299 

other  five  ships  to  hoist  pennants  and  ensigns  to 
correspond,    for   it    must   be   remembered   that   in 
appearance  a  French  frigate  and  one  of  the  Com- 
pany's East  Indiamen  were  very  similar  at  a  distance. 
In  addition  he  had  the  audacity  to  detach  two  of  his 
ships  and  send  them  on  to  reconnoitre  the  French 
squadron.     These   approached  the   French  recon- 
noitring  frigate   Cybele,   and  the   latter's   captain, 
having  had  a  good  look  at  the  enemy,  made  the 
signal  at  her  mast-head,  "  The  enemy  is  superior  in 
force  to  the  French,"  and  crowding  on  sail  rejoined 
Sercey's  squadron.     The  French  admiral  therefore 
caused  his  ships  to  make  sail  and  escape,  though 
when  one  of  his  vessels — the  Forte — had  the  mis- 
fortune to  carry  away  her  maintopmast  he  was  more 
than  surprised  to  notice  that  the  English  did  not 
continue  their  chase.     But  inasmuch  as  the  captain 
of  the  Cybele  had  assured  him  that  the  enemy's 
force  consisted  of  two  line-of -battle  ships  and  four 
frigates  he  felt  that  he  was  justified  in  retreating  and 
declining  fight.    So  it  came  about  that  the  six  East 
Indiamen  were  able  to  congratulate  themselves  on 
escaping,  and  the  French  rear-admiral  was  no  less 
pleased  to  have  avoided  an  engagement.     But  you 
may  judge  of  the  latter's  anger  and  chagrin  four 
weeks  later  when,  on  arriving  at  the  Isle  of  France, 
he  learned  that  Admiral  Rainier  had  not  been  near 
the  straits  (where  the  East  Indiamen  were  sighted), 
and  that  therefore  six  rich  merchant  ships  which 
ought  to  have   been   captured   had  been   allowed 
literally  to  slip  through  his  fingers. 

From  time  immemorial  the  Indian  Ocean  and  the 
Gulf  of  Persia  had  been  the  happy  hunting-ground 
of  pirates,  and  the  mouth  of  the  Red  Sea,  from  its 


300  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

strategical  position,  was  another  favourite  resort. 
There  is  on  record  an  incident  belonging  to  the  year 
1696,  when  the  pirates  attacked  a  Bombay  ship  com- 
manded by  an  Englishman  named  Sawbridge,  whose 
cargo  consisted  of  Arab  horses  for  Surat.  The 
pirates  were  able  to  seize  the  ship,  whereupon  Saw- 
bridge  began  to  expostulate  with  them  as  to  their 
manner  of  life.  On  this  they  ordered  him  to  be 
silent,  but  as  he  continued  to  speak  they  took  a  sail- 
needle  and  twine  and  sewed  his  lips  together,  keep- 
ing him  like  this  for  several  hours  with  his  hands  tied 
behind  him.  They  then  at  length  unloosed  both  his 
hands  and  his  lips  and  took  him  on  board  their  own 
ship,  and  having  successfully  plundered  Sawbridge's 
vessel  they  set  it  on  fire,  burning  both  her  and  the 
horses.  Sawbridge  was  set  ashore  at  Aden,  together 
with  his  people,  but  it  is  not  surprising  to  learn  that 
he  soon  died. 

Now  the  pirate  in  this  case  was  not  an  Oriental, 
but  that  notorious  blackguard  Captain  Avery,  who 
certainly  knew  better.  The  pirates,  however,  of 
whom  we  are  now  to  speak  as  enemies  of  the  East 
Indiamen  ships  were  those  Easterns  who  dwelt  on 
the  Arabian  side  of  the  Persian  Gulf  and  were 
known  by  the  name  of  Joassamees.  They  were  sea- 
men by  nature  and  occupation,  trading  with  their 
vessels  to  Bussorah,  Bushire,  Muscat  and  India. 
Finding  that  to  plunder  the  big  merchant  ships  which 
now  came  to  the  Persian  Gulf  was  a  profitable  con- 
cern, they  applied  themselves  with  great  assiduity  to 
that  task,  and  became  even  more  ambitious.  About 
the  year  1797  one  of  the  East  India  Company's  war- 
ships was  lying  at  anchor  in  the  inner  roads  of 
Bushire  (on  the  Persian  side  of  the  Gulf).  Her 


OFFENCE  AND  DEFENCE  301 

name  was  the  Viper  and  she  carried  ten  guns. 
Anchored  in  the  harbour  were  some  Joassamee 
dhows,  but  as  they  had  always  respected  or  feared 
the  British  flag  no  hostile  measures  had  been  taken 
against  them  by  British  ships.  The  commanders  of 
these  dhows  had  applied  to  the  Persian  agent  of  the 
East  India  Company  for  a  supply  of  gunpowder  and 
cannon  shot,  and  as  the  agent  had  no  suspicion  of 
their  intentions  he  furnished  them  with  an  order  to 
the  commanding  officer  on  board  for  the  quantity 
required. 

The  captain  of  the  Viper  was  ashore  at  the  time  in 
the  agent's  house,  but  as  the  order  was  produced  to 
the  officer  on  board  the  powder  and  shot  were 
delivered  and  the  dhows  subsequently  made  sail. 
At  this  moment  the  crew  of  the  Viper  were  below  at 
breakfast,  when  suddenly  they  were  alarmed  by  a 
cannonade  from  two  of  the  dhows  directed  at  the 
Viper.  The  Joassamees  attempted  to  board,  but  the 
English  officers  leaping  on  deck  sent  the  crew  to 
quarters,  cut  the  Viper's  cable  and  got  sail  upon  her 
so  that  she  might  have  the  advantage  of  manoeuvr- 
ing. A  regular  engagement  now  followed  between 
the  Viper  and  four  dhows,  all  being  armed  with  guns 
and  full  of  men.  The  commanding  officer  of  the 
Viper  was  wounded,  but  after  tying  round  a  hand- 
kerchief still  kept  the  deck,  till  he  fell  with  a  ball 
entering  his  forehead.  The  command  then  devolved 
on  a  midshipman,  who  continued  the  fight  with  great 
bravery,  and  the  result  was  that  the  dhows  were 
beaten  off  and  chased  out  to  sea. 

Reverting  now  to  the  Company's  purely  mercan- 
tile ships  it  is  well  to  see  how  they  were  armed  to 
withstand  the  attacks  of  their  enemies.  On  another 


302  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

page  the  reader  will  find  the  lines  of  one  of  the  finest 
East  Indiamen  of  the  early  nineteenth  century.  This 
was  one  of  the  Company's  ships  which  carried 
freight  and  passengers  between  England  and  India 
and  was  not  one  of  their  cruisers  belonging  to  the 
Bombay  Marine.  We  may  take  this  vessel  as  typical 
of  the  biggest  and  most  formidable  type  of  their 
ships  at  the  time  of  which  we  are  speaking.  She 
measured  165  feet  6J  inches  long.  Her  length  of 
keel  (measured  for  tonnage)  was  134  feet.  Her 
extreme  breadth  was  42  feet,  and  the  depth  of  her 
hold  17  feet,  her  burthen  working  out  at  1257  tons. 
Such  a  ship  was  armed  with  twenty-six  i8-pounders 
on  her  middle  deck  and  ten  i8-pounders  on  her 
upper  deck,  with  two  more  guns  in  the  after  ports  as 
stern-chasers.  One  of  the  greatest  authorities  on 
shipbuilding  and  naval  architecture  of  that  time,  who 
himself  was  a  Fellow  of  the  Royal  Society,  went  so 
far  as  to  state  that  the  biggest  East  Indiamen  were 
not  safe  owing  to  their  bad  design  below  water, 
adding  that  whenever  these  vessels  got  ashore  in 
bad  weather  they  usually  broke  their  floors  and  then 
filled  with  water — so  weakly  constructed  were  they 
below. 

With  respect  to  the  armament  of  these  ships, 
James,  the  famous  naval  historian,  in  commenting 
on  that  incident  in  which  Commodore  Dance  beat 
off  the  French  Admiral  Linois  (already  related  in 
another  chapter),  says  that  each  of  the  Indiamen 
under  Dance  carried  from  thirty  to  thirty-six  guns 
apiece,  but  the  strongest  of  them  was  not  a  match 
for  the  smallest  36-gun  French  frigate,  and  some  of 
these  East  Indiamen  would  have  found  it  difficult 
to  avoid  yielding  to  the  22-gun  corvette.  Speaking 


OFFENCE  AND  DEFENCE       303 

of  these  East  Indiamen,  he  says :  "  Some  of  the 
ships  carried  upon  the  main  deck  26  medium 
i8-pounders,  or  '  carronades/  weighing  about  28 
cwt.  and  of  very  little  use  :  guns  of  this  description, 
indeed,  have  long  since  been  exploded.  Ten 
i8-pounder  carronades  on  the  quarter-deck  made  up 
the  36  guns.  Others  of  the  ships,  and  those  among 
the  largest,  mounted  long  12  and  6  pounders.  No 
one  of  the  crews,  we  believe,  exceeded  140  men,  and 
that  number  included  Chinese,  Lascars,  etc.  More- 
over in  fitting  the  ships,  so  much  more  attention  had 
been  paid  to  stowage  than  to  the  means  of  attack 
and  defence,  that  one  and  sometinles  two  butts  of 
water  were  lashed  beween  the  guns,  and  the  decks 
in  general  greatly  lumbered." 

The  fact  was  that  the  old  East  Indiamen  had  to 
go  about  their  work  under  very  trying  conditions. 
They  could  not  be  built  of  more  than  a  certain  ton- 
nage for  the  reason  that  shipbuilders  were  not  equal 
to  the  task.  Within  their  limited  size  of  about  140 
feet  on  the  keel  a  very  great  deal  had  to  be  got  in. 
First  and  most  important  of  all,  the  ship  must  be  able 
to  carry  a  large  amount  of  cargo.  Without  this  she 
would  not  be  of  service  to  the  East  India  Company. 
Secondly,  she  carried  passengers  and  a  large  crew. 
This  meant  that  the  designer's  ingenuity  was  further 
taxed  to  find  accommodation  for  all.  Then,  although 
she  had  to  be  strong  enough  to  carry  all  her  arma- 
ment, yet  she  had  to  make  as  fast  a  passage  as  she 
could  with  safety  and  caution.  In  short,  like  all 
other  ships  she  was  a  compromise,  but  the  real  diffi- 
culty was  to  combine  space,  speed  and  fighting 
strength  without  one  item  ousting  the  other.  To-day 
the  designer  of  our  merchant  ships  has  a  difficult 


304  THE  OLD    EAST  INDIAMEN 

problem ;  but  he  has  not  to  consider  so  much  how  his 
ship  would  fare  in  an  engagement,  but  how  he  can 
get  out  of  her  the  greatest  speed  combined  with  the 
maximum  amount  of  room  for  passengers  and 
cargo.  He  has  to  work  on  all  sorts  of  data  obtained 
from  actual  experience  of  years  and  experiments 
made  in  tanks  with  wax  models.  But  the  designers 
and  builders  of  the  old  East  Indiamen  were  tied 
down  to  the  frigate  type  and  bound  by  convention. 
There  was  very  little  science  in  shipbuilding,  and 
practically  all  that  they  could  do  was  to  modify  very 
slightly  the  models  which  had  been  in  vogue  for  so 
many  generations.  If  they  had  been  in  possession  of 
greater  theoretical  knowledge,  if  they  could  have 
been  allowed  to  eliminate  all  thought  of  the  ship 
being  a  fighting  unit,  we  should  have  seen,  no  doubt, 
the  clipper  era  appearing  some  years  before  it 
actually  did.  It  is  easy  enough  to  find  fault  with  the 
old  East  Indiamen  for  their  clumsiness,  but  it  is 
much  more  just  to  remember  the  conditions  which 
were  handicapping  the  designers  and  builders  of 
those  times. 


CHAPTER    XXI 


THE  "  WARREN  HASTINGS  "  AND  THE  "  PIEMONTAISE  ' 


ONE  of  the  most  gallant  duels  which  was  ever  fought 
between  a  merchant  ship  and  a  man-of-war  is  that 
which  occurred  in  the  year  1 805  :  and  though  event- 
ually the  former  was  at  last  captured,  yet  the  engage- 
ment none  the  less  remains  to  her  credit,  since  the 
fight  lasted  for  four  hours  and  the  enemy  was  com- 
pelled to  haul  off  several  times  during  the  action. 
The  incident,  in  fact,  affords  an  excellent  example 
of  the  readiness  for  hostilities  which  was  so  marked 
a  feature  of  the  old  East  Indiamen.  James  has 
happily  preserved  to  posterity  a  full  account  of  this, 
although  in  some  instances  he  has  not  always  done 
full  credit  to  the  gallantry  and  determination  of 
these  merchant  ships.  And  I  shall  make  no  apology 
for  availing  myself  of  his  detailed  story. 

The  Warren  Hastings  was  a  vessel  of  1200  tons, 
was  armed  with  44  guns,  and  her  crew  consisted  of 
196  men  and  boys.  She  was  therefore  in  size,  in 
armament  and  crew  a  distinctly  formidable  ship,  her 
commander  being  Captain  Thomas  Larkins.  On 
the  1 7th  of  February  1805  she  left  Portsmouth 
bound  for  China.  This  was  one  of  the  most  historic 
years  in  the  whole  history  of  the  sea,  and  a  few 
months  later  the  Battle  of  Trafalgar  brought  matters 

u  305 


306  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

to  a  crisis.  It  was  obvious  that  in  consequence  of 
the  eventful  times  no  ship,  not  even  an  East  India- 
man,  could  dare  to  begin  a  voyage  unless  special 
precautions  had  been  taken  to  render  her  as  fully 
equipped  against  a  French  frigate  as  both  money 
and  the  ship's  own  limitations  would  permit. 

In  the  case  of  so  valuable  a  ship  as  the  Warren 
Hastings  extraordinary  precautions  had  been  taken 
to  make  her  as  powerful  as  possible.  Her  forty-four 
guns  were  composed  as  follows.  She  carried  on  her 
main  or  lower  deck  twenty-six  medium  i8-pounders, 
fourteen  carronades  (i8-pounders)  on  her  upper 
deck,  and  four  carronades  (i2-pounders)  on  her 
poop.  The  medium  gun  was  six  feet  in  length,  and 
weighed  about  26|  cwt.  It  will  be  seen  that  this  was 
a  smaller  weapon  than  that  used  in  the  Royal  Navy, 
for  the  common  i8-pounder  of  the  latter  measured 
nine  feet  long,  and  weighed  42  cwt.  The  East  India- 
man's  medium  i8-pounder  when  run  out  did  not 
reach  out  more  than  a  foot  from  the  ship's  side.  The 
i8-pounder  carronade  was  five  feet  long,  and 
weighed  about  15^  cwt.  The  i2-pounder  was  $\ 
feet  long  and  weighed  about  8J  cwt.  The  Warren 
Hastings'  carronades  were  mounted,  says  James, 
:t  upon  a  carriage  resembling  Cover's  in  every  par- 
ticular but  the  only  essential  one,  the  having  of 
rollers  adapted  to  a  groove  in  the  slide.  The  con- 
sequence of  this  silly  evasion  of  an  ingenious  man's 
patent  was,  that  the  whole  of  the  ship's  quarter-deck 
and  poop  guns  became  utterly  useless,  after  only  a 
few  rounds  had  been  fired  from  them.  The  first 
discovery  of  any  imperfection  in  the  new  carriage 
occurred  at  exercise  :  but  a  plentiful  supply  of  black- 
lead  upon  the  upper  surface  of  the  slide  lessened  the 


WARREN  HASTINGS  AND  PI&MONTAISE    307 

friction,  and,  with  the  aid  of  an  additional  hand, 
enabled  the  gun  to  be  run  out.  On  account,  how- 
ever, of  the  rain,  and  the  salt  water  in  washing  the 
deck,  the  application  of  blacklead  was  obliged  to 
be  repeated  every  time  of  exercise." 

The  Warren  Hastings,  after  leaving  Portsmouth 
on  the  day  mentioned,  made  a  safe  and  uneventful 
passage  to  China  and  duly  began  her  return  journey. 
But  this  time  she  was  armed  not  quite  so  strongly. 
Four  of  her  main-deck  ports  had  been  caulked  up 
so  as  to  afford  additional  space  for  a  storeroom,  and 
the  four  guns  had  been  put  away  in  the  hold.  Nor 
had  she  so  good  a  crew,  for  forty  Chinamen  had 
decided  to  remain  at  Canton,  and  there  was  the  usual 
impressment  from  the  British  navy,  a  warship  reliev- 
ing the  Warren  Hastings  of  eighteen  English  sea- 
men :  and  you  can  be  sure  they  were  some  of  the 
best  men  in  the  ship.  In  addition  to  the  four  guns 
already  mentioned,  four  of  the  i8-pounder  carron- 
ades  were  also  transferred  to  the  hold.  The  net 
result  was  that  when  she  put  to  sea  for  her  homeward 
voyage  she  mounted  36  guns  only  and  carried  a  crew 
of  138  men  and  boys. 

It  was  on  the  2ist  of  June  at  7.30  in  the  morning 
that,  while  this  ship  was  foaming  along  under  a 
smart  press  of  canvas  before  a  strong  breeze,  she 
descried  a  strange  ship  under  treble-reefed  topsails 
and  courses.  This  turned  out  to  be  the  French 
frigate  Piemontaise  of  40  guns,  commanded  by 
Captain  Jacques  Epron.  This  ship  was  armed 
rather  differently  from  the  rest  of  French  frigates 
which  were  so  famous  at  this  period,  and  as  we  are 
about  to  watch  the  contest  between  her  and  the  InHia- 
man  it  will  be  well  to  notice  these  details.  The 


308  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

Piemontaise  had  the  usual  twenty-eight  long 
i8-pounders  on  her  main-deck.  On  her  quarter- 
deck and  forecastle  she  mounted  ten  iron  and  two 
brass  36-pounder  carronades,  two  long  French 
8-pounders,  and  four  long  English  Q-pounders,  these 
having  belonged  to  the  British  frigate  Jason,  which 
had  been  compelled  to  throw  them  overboard  when 
she  grounded  off  Pointe  de  la  Trenche  at  the  capture 
of  the  Seine  in  1798. 

In  addition  to  her  forty-six  carriage  guns,  the 
Frenchmen  also  carried  swivel  guns  and  musketoons 
in  her  tops  and  along  her  gunwales.  On  each  fore 
and  main  yard-arm  there  was  fixed  a  tripod  to 
contain  a  shell  weighing  a  quarter  of  a  ton,  the  idea 
being  that  when  in  combat  she  got  alongside  another 
ship,  the  shell  was  to  have  its  fuse  lighted  by  a  man 
lying  out  on  the  yard.  It  would  then  be  thrown 
from  the  tripod,  fall  on  the  enemy's  deck,  pass 
through  to  the  deck  below,  and  then  exploding 
would  cause  wholesale  destruction.  Meanwhile,  the 
French  crew  would  rush  on  board,  profiting  by  this 
confusion,  and  the  capture  of  the  Frenchman's  enemy 
would  be  an  easier  matter.  The  French  crew  would 
also  be  armed  each  with  a  dagger  in  the  buttonholes 
of  his  jacket  in  addition  to  the  boarding-pike  which 
he  would  hold  in  his  hand.  These  tactics  were,  even 
at  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century,  a  curious 
survival  of  the  mediaeval  methods  of  fighting. 
Gunnery  was  not  the  chief  reliance,  but  was  looked 
upon  merely  as  a  means  for  quelling  the  enemy  so 
that  she  might  be  boarded  and  a  hand-to-hand  fight 
begun.  In  seems  strange  in  this  twentieth  century, 
when  a  battleship  would  open  fire  at  six  miles  and  be 
pretty  sure  to  keep  a  good  distance  from  its  opponent, 


WARREN  HASTINGS  AND  PI&MONTAISE    309 

that  the  older  fashion  should  have  survived  so  long. 
If  the  French  frigates  of  yesterday  were  the  German 
light  cruisers  of  to-day,  and  the  old  East  Indiamen 
were  the  crack  ships  of  the  Cunard  Line  of  the 
P.  &  O.,  the  latter  could,  if  desired,  be  attacked  and 
sunk  without  the  vessels  ever  getting  within  several 
miles  of  each  other,  let  alone  any  thought  of  board- 
ing, unless  the  German  was  determined  to  spare 
human  life,  keep  within  the  limits  of  international 
law  and  take  the  merchant  ship  captive.  Thus  have 
the  conditions  changed  in  the  course  of  time. 

But  to  return  to  the  incident  before  us.  An  hour 
and  a  half  after  sighting  the  Frenchman,  the  Warren 
Hastings  noticed  that  the  frigate  was  shaking  out 
her  reefs  from  her  topsails  and  was  approaching  the 
English  ship,  the  latter  still  keeping  on  her  course. 
At  half-past  nine  that  morning  the  frigate  was  fast 
gaining  on  the  Indiaman,  and  nevertheless  set  her 
topgallant-sails  as  well  as  her  fore  and  maintopmast 
stuns'ls.  Her  next  act  was  to  hoist  an  English  blue 
ensign  and  pennant.  However,  the  skipper  of  the 
Warren  Hastings  was  far  too  experienced  in  the 
ways  of  the  sea  to  be  taken  in  by  this  piece  of  bluff, 
and  still  kept  his  ship  on  her  way.  He  replied  to 
the  signals  by  hoisting  his  English  colours  and 
making  the  private  signal,  of  which  we  have  spoken 
elsewhere  in  this  volume.  The  Frenchman,  how- 
ever, made  no  reply  to  this  private  signal,  so  it  was 
pretty  certain  that  there  was  treachery. 

On  came  the  frigate,  tearing  through  the  water 
with  the  smart  breeze,  doing  good  work  all  the  time. 
Meanwhile,  the  East  Indiaman's  commander  was 
seeing  that  everything  was  in  readiness  for  obvious 
impending  trouble.  At  eleven  o'clock  he  shortened 


310  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

sail,  hauled  up  a  point  and  cleared  his  ship  for 
action.  One  hour  later  the  frigate  also  took  in  her 
"  fancy  "  canvas — her  stuns'ls  and  her  staysails,  but 
also  her  mainsail  too.  And  having  approached  to 
within  one  mile  hauled  down  her  English  colours 
and  sent  up  her  French  flag.  She  had  intentionally 
chosen  the  leeward  position,  because  of  the  high 
wind,  and  opened  fire  at  the  Indiaman's  port  quarter 
within  musket-shot  distance — that  is  to  say,  about 
four  hundred  yards  away ;  and  so  soon  as  the  India- 
man  could  bring  her  guns  to  bear  this  fire  was  re- 
turned. This  firing  went  on  for  about  a  quarter  of 
an  hour,  when  the  frigate  bore  away,  let  her  sails 
fill,  and  went  on  ahead.  The  only  damage  that  had 
been  done  to  the  Indiaman  was  to  carry  away  part 
of  the  rigging. 

After  the  frigate  had  got  about  a  mile  and  a  half 
ahead  the  latter  tacked,  passed  close  to  leeward  of 
the  Warren  Hastings  again,  and  once  more  a  smart 
fire  was  exchanged.  This  time  several  of  the  Warren 
Hastings'  crew  were  killed  and  wounded,  and  in  addi- 
tion the  whole  of  the  port  fore  shrouds,  the  foretop- 
sail  tie,  her  chief  running  gear,  her  stays  and  her 
ensign  were  cut  away  and  her  foremast  seriously 
injured.  The  ensign,  however,  was  quickly  rehoisted 
at  the  maintopgallant-masthead.  Quickly  the  India- 
man repaired  her  damage,  but  then  the  frigate 
having  put  about  astern  of  the  Indiaman  began  the 
action  a  third  time,  though  this  did  little  more 
damage  than  crippling  the  merchant  ship's  foremast 
altogether.  Owing  to  this  fact  and  the  heavy  sea 
and  high  wind  the  Warren  Hastings  could  carry  sail 
only  on  her  main  and  mizen  masts.  The  result  was 


WARREN  HASTINGS  AND  PI&MONTAISE    311 

that  the  Frenchman  could  run  round  her  even  more 
easily  than  before. 

This  time  she  went  ahead  again,  tacked,  and  was 
about  to  make  a  further  onslaught  when  the  Warren 
Hastings  opened  a  hot  fire.  The  Frenchman  replied, 
but  it  was  seen  that  the  Englishman  was  being 
injured  still  more  and  more.  She  was  now  injured 
not  merely  at  her  foremast,  but  at  her  main 
too.  Her  standing  and  running  rigging  had  also 
been  considerably  damaged,  two  quarter-deck  guns 
were  disabled,  five  men  had  been  killed  and  others 
were  wounded.  However,  in  this  crippled  state  she 
had  to  sustain  a  fifth  attack.  For  the  frigate,  coming 
on  the  Indiaman's  port  quarter,  poured  in  a  heavy 
and  destructive  fire  which  smashed  the  driver-boom 
to  splinters,  and  soon  the  mizen-mast  went.  And  as 
it  fell  it  succeeded  in  disabling  every  effective  gun 
on  the  upper  deck.  Troubles  seldom  come  singly, 
and  in  addition  to  these  misfortunes  the  lower  deck 
was  on  fire  from  the  shot  which  had  entered  the 
counter,  and  as  the  nail  of  the  tiller  rope  on  the 
barrel  of  the  steering  wheel  had  drawn,  the  rudder 
became  useless. 

The  surgeon  was  in  the  act  of  amputating  and 
dressing  the  wounded  when  a  shot  entered  and 
destroyed  the  whole  of  his  instruments.  Altogether 
it  was  a  bad  business,  and  the  poor,  crippled  India- 
man,  after  having  done  her  best  to  fight  against  a 
superior  foe,  was  reluctantly  compelled  to  lower  her 
colours  just  before  five  o'clock  that  evening.  She 
had  been  rendered  almost  a  mere  hulk,  she  had  lost 
her  purser  and  six  men  all  killed.  Thirteen  more, 
including  her  chief,  third  and  sixth  officers  and  her 
surgeon's  mate  had  been  wounded,  whereas  the 


312  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

Frenchman  out  of  her  enormous  crew  of  385  men 
and  boys  had  lost  only  seven  men  killed  and  five 
badly  wounded.  Her  hull  was  practically  undam- 
aged and  her  rigging  and  sails  were  only  partially 
injured.  But  this,  of  course,  was  natural  enough, 
for  the  frigate's  weight  of  broadside  was  533  Ib.  as 
against  the  Indiaman's  312  Ib.  The  Indiaman 
carried  only  138  men  and  boys,  as  against  the 
Frenchman's  385. 

But  it  is  necessary  also  to  bear  in  mind  that  a 
warship  exists  solely  for  the  purpose  of  being  an 
efficient  fighting  unit.  This  frigate  had  to  think  of 
nothing  else.  Whenever  she  cruised  about,  her 
intention  was  to  find  some  opportunity  of  inflicting 
injury  on  an  English  ship.  The  Indiaman,  on  the 
other  hand,  had  to  consider  primarily  how  best  she 
could  carry  the  greatest  amount  of  cargo,  how  she 
could  get  this  to  port  in  the  quickest  manner :  and 
then  only  in  a  secondary  sense  had  she  to  contem- 
plate being  an  able  fighter.  Necessarily,  therefore, 
the  frigate  was  always  better  armed  and  more  ready 
for  war.  It  so  happened  that  the  Warren  Hastings 
was  still  further  handicapped  by  the  fact  that  she 
could  make  very  little  use  of  her  upper  deck  and 
poop  batteries  after  the  second  or  third  round  of 
shot.  Owing  to  lack  of  men  she  could  man  only 
eight  out  of  her  eleven  guns  on  her  lower  deck,  while 
the  frigate  was  in  no  way  impeded. 

"  Under  these  circumstances,"  says  James,  "  the 
defence  made  by  the  Warren  Hastings,  protracted  as 
it  was  to  four  hours  and  a  half,  displayed  a  highly 
commendable  zeal  and  perseverance  on  the  part  of 
Captain  Larkins,  his  officers,  and  ship's  company, 
but  with  all  their  gallant  efforts,  the  latter  could 


WARREN  HASTINGS  AND  PI&MONTAISE    313 

never  have  succeeded  in  capturing — although,  had 
the  ship's  guns  been  in  an  effective  state,  they  might, 
in  beating  off — an  antagonist  so  well  armed,  manned, 
and  appointed  as  the  Piemontaise" 

But  we  have  not  yet  concluded.  The  Warren 
Hastings  being  dismasted,  and  a  heavy  sea  running, 
the  ship  was  allowed  to  fall  off.  And  as  the 
French  frigate  was  lying  close  to  leeward,  under 
three  topsails,  with  the  mizen  one  aback  and  the  main 
one  on  the  shake,  this  warship  had  to  bear  up  to 
avoid  collision  with  the  Indiaman.  The  former 
filled  her  maintopsail,  but  as  there  was  none  left  at 
the  helm  she  luffed  up  into  the  wind  and  fouled 
the  Warren  Hastings  on  the  latter's  port  bow.  You 
can  readily  imagine  that  with  such  a  sea  running 
there  followed  a  series  of  sickening  thuds  as  these 
two  heavy  ships  banged  against  each  other's  sides. 
But  the  situation  was  now  suitable  for  boarding 
tactics,  and  the  Frenchmen,  led  by  the  first  lieuten- 
ant, poured  aboard  the  merchant  ship.  But  they 
came  not  as  conquerors,  but  as  assassins,  with  up- 
lifted daggers  and  threatening  the  lives  of  all. 

One  of  these  villains  dragged  the  English  captain 
about  the  ship,  accusing  him  of  an  attempt  to  run 
the  frigate  down  in  order  to  cripple  her  masts.  The 
first  lieutenant  also  stabbed  the  captain  on  the  right 
side.  It  was  a  brutal  affray,  which  cannot  be  said  to 
redound  to  the  credit  of  any  naval  officer.  Captain 
Larkins,  brave  man  though  he  was,  soon  fainted 
through  loss  of  blood,  and  was  then  ordered  on 
board  the  frigate.  It  should  be  added  that  the  first 
lieutenant  and  many  of  his  men  were  highly  intoxi- 
cated at  the  time  and  so  cannot  be  held  fully 
responsible  for  their  base  treatment  of  their  victims. 


314  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

The  second  officer,  the  surgeon  and  the  boatswain's 
mate  were  also  stabbed,  and  a  midshipman  was 
pierced  in  seven  different  places  by  the  first  lieuten- 
ant. The  ship  was  afterwards  pillaged  by  this 
drunken  gang,  but  after  such  excesses  had  been 
allowed  to  have  their  way  the  French  captain  did 
his  best  to  make  the  survivors  comfortable.  The 
Piemontaise  then  steered  for  the  Isle  of  France, 
taking  her  fine  prize  in  tow,  one  of  the  handsomest 
vessels  which  the  Honourable  East  India  Company 
ever  possessed.  Captor  and  captive  arrived  at  the  Isle 
of  France  on  the  4th  of  July,  and  a  strange  sight  these 
two  must  have  made  as  they  proceeded.  The  reader 
may  have  marvelled  that  the  Piemontaise  had  been 
able  to  overhaul  the  Warren  Hastings  so  quickly 
and  to  manoeuvre  so  easily  when  she  kept  returning 
to  make  one  attack  after  another.  But  these  French 
frigates  were  splendid  craft  and  wonderfully  fast, 
for  although  the  East  Indiamen  were  built  on  frigate 
lines  more  or  less,  yet  they  were  modified  to  allow 
of  a  large  cargo  being  carried,  and  this  of  course 
could  be  done  only  by  sacrificing  speed  possibility. 
Some  idea  of  the  pace  which  these  French  frigates 
could  reach  may  be  gathered  from  the  statement  that 
the  Piemontaise,  in  a  moderate  breeze,  carrying  three 
single-reefed  topsails,  foresail  and  mizen  staysail, 
was  able  to  tow  her  prize,  a  deeply  laden  ship  of 
bigger  tonnage  than  herself,  having  very  small  jury- 
sail  set,  at  the  rate  of  seven  and  a  half  knots  an 
hour. 

This  fight  and  capture  show  the  kind  of  adventure 
that  was  always  imminent  during  a  great  portion  of 
the  East  Indiaman  period.  It  is  almost  difficult  for 
us  who  travel  with  safety  and  punctuality  in  modern 


WARREN  HASTINGS  AND  PI^MONTAISE    315 

steamship  liners  to  realise  the  uncertainty,  the 
danger  and  anxieties  with  which  the  old  merchant 
ships  to  the  East  proceeded  on  their  way.  There 
was  not  a  species  of  disaster  peculiar  to  maritime 
travel  that  was  not  ready  to  bring  the  career  of  such 
fine  ships  to  a  speedy  end.  Every  conceivable  kind 
of  enemy  seemed  to  be  lying  in  wait  for  these  craft : 
and  the  wonder  really  is,  not  that  they  were  so  often 
lost,  but  that  they  got  to  port.  Knowing,  as  we  do, 
something  of  the  characters  of  the  commanders  who 
took  these  East  Indiamen  over  the  ocean,  we  need 
not  be  altogether  surprised  that  their  sagacity,  their 
determination,  leadership,  seamanship  and  ability  as 
navigators  and  tacticians  when  tested  did  so  much 
for  the  honour  of  their  service  and  for  the  safety 
of  the  ships  and  cargoes  which  the  Company  en- 
trusted to  their  care.  They  were  men  of  whom  the 
Company  and  the  country  had  every  right  to  be 
proud. 


CHAPTER    XXII 

PIRATES    AND    FRENCH    FRIGATES 

ANOTHER  pirate  who  was  a  thorn  in  the  flesh  to  the 
East  Indiamen  was  a  man  named  Jean  Lafitte,  who 
was  born  at  St  Malo.  This  man  was  no  stranger 
to  the  Eastern  seas.  He  had  been  appointed  mate 
of  a  French  East  Indiaman  which  was  bound  from 
Europe  to  Madras.  But  on  the  way  out  the  ship 
encountered  bad  weather  off  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope, 
by  which  she  was  so  damaged  that  the  captain  deter- 
mined to  call  at  Mauritius  :  and  a  quarrel  having 
sprung  up  between  Lafitte  and  the  captain,  the  former 
decided  to  quit  the  ship  at  the  island.  Now  there 
were  several  privateers  or  pirates  fitting  out  at  this 
island,  and  before  long  Lafitte  became  captain  of 
one  of  these  vessels. 

For  a  time  he  cruised  about  the  seas  robbing  what- 
soever ships  he  could,  but  was  eventually  chased  by 
an  English  frigate  as  far  north  as  the  Equator  :  and 
from  there  he  later  on  came  south  and  proceeded 
to  the  Bay  of  Bengal  to  obtain  provisions.  His  ship 
was  of  200  tons,  with  only  two  guns  and  twenty-six 
men.  This  should  be  noted,  because  it  shows  how 
much  inferior  as  a  fighting  unit  she  was  to  any 
Indiaman.  Nevertheless  whilst  off  the  Bengal 
coast  he  fell  in  with  the  East  Indiaman  Pagoda, 


PIRATES  AND  FRENCH  FRIGATES        317 

which  was  armed  with  twenty-six  12 -pounders  and 
had  a  crew  of  a  hundred  and  fifty  men.  With  this 
disparity  in  strength  it  was  obvious  that  Lafitte  could 
only  hope  for  victory  by  employing  artifice.  So  he 
manoeuvred  as  if  he  were  a  pilot  for  the  Ganges 
ready  at  his  station  cruising  about.  The  Pagoda 
came  along  and  was  quite  taken  in  by  this  trickery, 
and,  to  cut  the  story  short,  when  it  was  all  too  late 
to  get  out  of  the  trap,  the  East  Indiaman  found 
Lafitte's  ship  alongside,  and  the  pirate,  together 
with  his  men,  suddenly  leapt  on  board  the  merchant 
ship,  overcame  every  opposition  and  very  speedily 
captured  the  ship.  And  it  was  this  same  pirate  who 
at  a  later  date  became  skipper  of  that  notorious  Con- 
fiance  of  which  we  have  had  need  to  speak  in  this 
volume. 

We  pass  over  the  intervening  period  until  we  come 
to  the  year  1807,  when  we  find  Lafitte  during  the 
month  of  October  still  on  the  prowl.  Off  the  Sand 
Heads  he  fell  in  with  the  East  Indiaman  Queen,  a 
vessel  of  about  800  tons,  a  crew  of  nearly  four 
hundred,  and  carrying  forty  guns.  She  was  such  a 
fine  ship  that  this  Frenchman  determined  to  become 
her  owner.  Compared  with  the  pirate  the  Queen, 
with  her  tall  masts  and  high  freeboard,  her  guns  and 
crew,  seemed  absurdly  superior  to  the  smaller  vessel. 
But  Lafitte  was  as  plucky  as  he  was  adventurous, 
and  this  apparent  inequality  only  added  zest  to 
his  plans.  As  the  two  ships  were  getting  nearer  and 
nearer,  he  exhorted  his  men  with  that  wild,  almost 
fanatical  enthusiasm  which  was  usually  an  electrify- 
ing force  to  a  band  of  desperadoes,  and  then  having 
manoeuvred  his  ship  with  no  little  cleverness, 
brought  her  alongside  the  Indiaman.  Just  as  he  did 


318  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

this  the  English  vessel  greeted  him  with  a  broadside, 
but  the  Frenchman  was  expecting  this,  and  ordered 
his  men  to  lie  flat  on  the  deck.  And  when  the  first 
fire  had  been  made,  the  pirates  all  got  up  again,  and 
from  the  yards  and  tops  hurled  down  bombs  and 
grenades  into  the  Indiaman's  forecastle. 

These  tactics  entirely  surprised  the  Queen's  cap- 
tain, and  great  havoc  was  wrought.  Lafitte  realising 
the  amount  of  consternation  which  had  now  been 
caused  sent  aboard  the  Queen  forty  of  his  men  with 
pistols  in  their  hands  and  daggers  between  their 
teeth,  and  as  soon  as  their  feet  touched  the  India- 
man's  deck  they  drove  the  terrified  and  astonished 
crowd  into  the  steerage,  where  the  latter  endeavoured 
to  defend  themselves  as  best  they  could.  Lafitte 
now  reinforced  his  forty  men  with  another  division, 
and  himself  went  as  their  leader,  and  the  result  was 
that  the  Queen's  captain  was  killed  and  the  rest  of 
the  survivors  were  swept  into  one  terror-stricken 
crowd.  He  then  caused  a  gun  to  be  loaded  with 
grape  and  pointed  to  the  place  where  the  crowd  were 
gathered,  and  threatened  to  blow  them  into  eternity. 
Upon  this  the  English  determined  that  further 
opposition  was  useless,  and  surrendered.  Lafitte 
therefore  ceased  his  bloody  slaughter,  and  became 
possessor  of  the  ship.  The  incident,  when  the  news 
reached  India,  caused  a  deep  sensation,  and  the 
name  of  this  scoundrel  was  spoken  of  with  horror. 
But  as  East  Indiamen  now  began  to  traverse  the 
Indian  Ocean  only  under  powerful  convoys,  Lafitte 
found  his  opportunities  very  few  and  rare,  so  he 
betook  himself  to  other  waters,  to  end  his  days  with 
a  violent  death. 

We  come  now  to  the  year  1810.    About  this  time 


f 


y 


PIRATES  AND  FRENCH  FRIGATES        319 

the  French  frigates  were  very  actively  on  the  qui 
vive  for  our  East  Indiamen  and  other  merchant 
ships,  and  the  neighbourhood  of  Madagascar  and 
Mauritius  was  popular  for  setting  forth  to  lie  in  wait 
for  the  victims.  When  any  prisoners  were  brought 
in  here  from  the  Company's  ships  they  were  made 
to  form  part  of  the  crews  of  these  French  frigates. 
And  if  any  British  soldiers  were  also  found  on  board 
they  were  likewise  destined  to  become  part  of  the 
frigates'  complement.  Some  were  made  so  to  do 
only  by  vehement  threats  if  they  declined  :  while 
some  others  were  base  enough  to  desert  the  English 
flag. 

On  the  3rd  of  July  of  the  year  just  mentioned, 
just  as  the  day  was  dawning,  the  French  frigates5 
Bellone  and  Minerve,  and  the.  corvette  Victor,  having 
stood  leisurely  up  the  Mozambique  Channel,  were 
about  thirty-six  miles  off  the  island  of  Mayotta,  when 
they  were  sighted  by  three  outward-bound  East 
Indiamen,  who  were  steering  to  the  north  before  a 
fresh  breeze  from  the  south-south-east.  The  frigates 
were  about  nine  miles  off  to  the  north-north-east, 
close-hauled  on  the  port  tack.  A  signal  was  made 
by  the  senior  officer  or  commodore  of  the  British 
ships  half-an-hour  later,  and  the  three  Indiamen 
hauled  their  wind  on  the  port  tack  under  double- 
reefed  topsails,  courses,  jib  and  spanker.  The 
names  of  these  vessels  were  the  Ceylon  (commodore's 
flagship),  Windham  and  Astell,  the  commodore  being 
Captain  Henry  Meriton.  At  half-past  seven  the 
Ceylon  made  the  private  signal,  as  was  customary. 
This  was  in  accordance  with  the  secret  code  provided 
by  the  Admiralty  :  and  if  the  strange  ships  had  been 
British  naval  frigates  or  fellow  East  Indiamen  they 


320  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

would  have  answered  in  accordance  with  the  code. 
Failure  to  reply  would  have  indicated  that  they  were 
hostile. 

Inasmuch  as  there  was  no  reply  in  this  case  the 
East  Indiamen's  commodore  ordered  his  ships  to 
clear  for  action.  There  could  be  no  sort  of  doubt 
now,  and  every  minute  was  valuable,  for  the  enemy 
was  passing  on  the  opposite  tack.  At  half-past  nine 
the  Astell  was  carrying  rather  more  sail  than  she 
could  do  with  and  made  a  signal  to  that  effect :  the 
Ceylon  and  Windham  therefore  shortened  sail  to 
keep  her  company.  Captain  Meriton  now  tele- 
graphed to  his  two  consorts  the  following  message  : 
"  As  we  cannot  get  away,  I  think  we  had  better  go 
under  easy  sail  and  bring  them  to  action  before 
dark."  It  was  the  only  thing  to  be  done  :  otherwise 
the  Astell  might  have  been  lost.  The  Windham, 
however,  replied  thus  :  "  If  we  make  all  sail  and  get 
into  smooth  water  under  the  land  we  can  engage  to 
more  advantage."  But  half-an-hour  later,  as  the 
force  of  the  wind  had  increased,  it  became  necessary 
for  the  East  Indiamen  to  heave-to  and  take  in  a 
third  reef  in  their  topsails.  But  even  under  this 
shortened  canvas  the  ships  were  making  heavy 
weather  of  it.  As  a  fact,  they  heeled  over  so  much 
that  the  high  sea  that  was  running  made  it  quite 
impossible  for  the  lower-deck  ports  on  the  lee  side 
to  be  kept  open. 

James,  with  his  characteristic  love  of  detail,  has 
given  full  particulars  of  this  incident,  and  we  can 
well  watch  with  him  what  followed.  At  11.30  A.M. 
the  Minerve  tacked  in  the  wake  of  the  Indiameri  and 
at  about  six  miles  away.  Soon  afterwards  theBellone 
and  the  Victor  also  went  about.  When  Captain 


PIRATES  AND  FRENCH  FRIGATES        321 

Meriton  had  watched  these  tactics  and  observed  the 
Minerve  coming  up  at  a  great  rate  astern  he  made 
the  following  signal :  "  Form  line  abreast,  to  bear 
on  ships  together,  Ceylon  in  the  centre."  So  the 
Windham,  Ceylon  and  Astell  formed  a  close  line  in 
the  order  named  and  awaited  the  oncoming  of  the 
enemy,  and  the  Victor  and  Minerve  were  approach- 
ing rapidly  on  the  starboard  quarter,  which  was  also 
the  weather  side. 

Presently  the  Minerve  arrived  abreast  of  the 
British  centre,  the  Victor  being  ahead.  Up  went 
French  colours,  a  shot  was  fired  at  the  Windham 
and  then  a  whole  broadside  was  fired  into  the  Ceylon, 
which  was  so  close  astern  of  her  consort  as  almost 
to  touch  her.  The  Astell,  however,  was  a  long  way 
to  leeward  and  astern  of  the  Ceylon.  When  the 
corvette  opened  fire  the  action  became  general  be- 
tween the  Minerve  and  Victor  of  the  one  side  and 
the  Windham,  Ceylon  and  Astell  on  the  other.  But 
inasmuch  as  the  Ceylon,  by  reason  of  her  situation, 
was  just  abeam  of  the  frigate,  this  Indiaman  received 
a  pretty  hot  time.  After  a  little  while  the  corvette 
found  the  fire  of  the  British  too  warm,  so  bore  up 
and  passed  to  leeward  of  the  Astell,  and  the  captain 
of  the  latter  becoming  wounded  severely,  the  chief 
mate  had  to  take  command.  It  is  quite  certain  that 
an  officer  of  a  modern  steamship  liner  is  a  much 
abler  navigator  than  those  who  served  in  the  old 
East  Indiamen.  But  it  is  unquestionable  that  even 
if  he  were  a  Royal  Naval  Reserve  officer,  and  had 
served  for  a  year  in  his  Majesty's  fleet,  he  would 
not  be  such  a  master  of  tactics  as  his  forefathers 
who  served  in  the  "  John  "  Company.  I  have  not 
the  slightest  doubt  in  asserting  that  if  a  European 


322  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

war  broke  out  to-morrow  every  officer  in  the  British 
mercantile  marine  would  render  an  excellent  account 
of  himself  for  resource  and  bravery.  Recent  dis- 
asters and  rescues  in  mid-ocean  have  shown  that  the 
fine  old  British  stuff  still  goes  to  the  making  of  our 
sailors.  But  if  their  ships  were  attacked  by  cruisers 
the  merchantman  would  have  no  opportunity  for 
displaying  fighting  tactics,  since  there  is  to-day  a  far 
greater  difference  between  the  fighting  qualities  of  a 
liner  and  a  navy's  cruiser  than  there  existed  between 
an  armed  East  Indiaman  and  a  French  frigate.  And 
this  even  if  we  include  the  recently  built  Aquitania  of 
the  Cunard  line,  which  happens  to  be  the  most 
heavily  armed  British  liner  which  ever  put  to  sea. 

In  these  sea-fights,  then,  between  the  Indiamen 
and  their  foreign  enemies  we  have  a  condition  that 
is  not  comparable  with  anything  to-day.  It  belongs 
to  the  past  absolutely,  and  therefore  the  difference 
between  the  captains  of  yesterday  and  to-day  is  also 
different,  and  that  not  merely  owing  to  the  fact  that 
one  commanded  a  ship  propelled  by  sails,  whereas 
his  successor  handles  a  steamship.  We  cannot  help 
admiring  the  many-sided  ability  of  the  East  India- 
men  captains.  Taking  them  by  and  large,  with  all 
their  defects  in  respect  of  smuggling  and  other 
delinquencies  which  need  not  be  enlarged  upon,  they 
were  extraordinarily  successful  in  most  complicated 
circumstances.  It  is  characteristic  of  any  kind  of 
seaman,  in  whatever  service  he  is  enrolled,  that  he 
is  adaptable,  but  could  you  find  a  greater  strain  im- 
posed on  any  man  than  that  which  had  to  be  borne 
by  the  commanders  of  the  vessels  whose  history  we 
are  considering?  As  exponents  of  the  art  of  pure 
seamanship  they  were  never  beaten,  unless  by  their 


PIRATES  AND  FRENCH  FRIGATES        323 

immediate  successors,  who  made  such  wonderful  pass- 
ages during  the  clipper-ship  era.  And  certainly  as 
tacticians  and  fighting  men  they  had  few  superiors  even 
in  the  Royal  Navy  of  that  time.  I  feel  that  it  is  only 
just  to  emphasise  these  points,  for  with  the  transition 
from  one  period  of  the  ship  to  another  the  ability  of 
our  mercantile  officers  has  changed  not  in  degree  but 
in  kind  :  and  very  shortly  the  last  link — in  the  person 
of  a  steamship  captain  who  formerly  commanded  a 
sailing  ship — connecting  the  ships  of  yesterday  with 
to-day  will  have  been  broken  for  ever.  No  one  can 
fail  to  admire  the  consummate  cleverness  with  which 
a  modern  mercantile  captain  brings  a  gigantic  liner 
through  a  narrow,  twisting  channel  in  a  strong  tide- 
way and  berths  his  ship  so  quietly  as  not  to  break  the 
proverbial  eggshell.  No  one  can  help  being  struck 
with  the  scientific  and  practical  ability  by  which 
perfect  land-falls  are  made  and  punctual  voyages 
are  carried  through  even  in  thick  weather.  The 
captains  of  the  Indiamen  of  yesterday  were  never 
called  upon  to  bear  the  kind  of  responsibility  which 
attaches  to  a  man  who  has  a  4O,ooo-ton  ship  and 
5000  lives  under  his  care.  But  at  the  same  time  our 
modern  commanders  in  the  merchant  service  have 
never  yet  been  called  upon  to  think  out  battle  tactics 
and  manoeuvre  so  as  to  fight  a  superior  enemy  with- 
out losing  one's  ship  or  cargo. 

This  was  always  the  anxiety  which  an  East  India- 
man's  skipper  had  to  think  of.  Was  he  justified  in 
remaining  to  fight :  or  was  his  chief  duty  to  run 
away?  His  command  was  not  primarily  a  fighting 
ship,  but  a  means  of  trade.  And  even  if  he  got 
his  ship  safe  in  port  would  be  incur  the  displeasure 
of  the  Honourable  East  India  Company's  directors? 


324  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

His  job  was  too  valuable  to  be  thrown  away  by  an 
error  of  judgment.  It  would  be  a  fine  feather  in  his 
cap  if  he  could  follow  the  example  of  Commodore 
Dance,  and  he  was  sure  to  be  well  rewarded  by  his 
Company.  To  deal  a  smashing  blow  at  the  nation's 
enemy  would  ensure  fame  for  this  captain  to  the 
end  of  his  days  and  after.  But — if  he  should  forget 
that  his  first  duty  was  to  get  the  valuable  cargo  home 
he  might  find  himself  a  broken  man  and  not  a  hero. 

Such,  then,  was  the  position  of  Captain  Meriton  in 
the  incident  we  are  discussing.  He  had  to  take  in 
the  situation  at  a  glance  and  form  a  quick  but  not 
hasty  judgment,  and  then  act  accordingly,  flinging 
out  his  signals  and  disposing  his  squadron.  At  four 
o'clock  the  Minerve  went  ahead  and  then  bore  down 
as  if  intending  to  get  alongside  the  Windham.  Now 
this  was  a  mode  of  attack  which  the  Indiamen  in  the 
present  instance  had  reason  to  fear  least  of  all,  for 
they  chanced  to  have  plenty  of  soldiery  on  board. 
The  Windham  therefore  made  sail  so  as  to  strike 
the  French  frigate  on  the  port  side  at  the  quarter, 
whilst  the  Ceylon  and  Astell  closed  on  their  consort 
so  as  to  assist  in  this  manoeuvre.  However,  the 
Windham  had  been  greatly  damaged  in  regard  to 
her  sails  and  rigging,  so  did  not  possess  enough  way 
to  act  as  she  had  hoped.  The  result  was  that  the 
Minerve  was  able  to  cross  her  bows  only  a  few  yards 
away.  All  this  time  the  three  Indiamen  had  kept  up 
an  incessant  and  well-aimed  musketry  fire  from  their 
troops  on  board. 

Just  as  the  Minerve  got  out  of  gun-shot — that  is  to 
say,  about  a  mile  away — the  Astell  passed  astern  of 
the  Windham  and  became  the  headmost  and 
weathermost  ship.  The  Windham  was  now  the  stern- 


PIRATES  AND  FRENCH  FRIGATES        825 

most  and  leewardmost  vessel  of  the  three,  and  the 
Minerve,  true  to  the  best  tradition  of  tactics  em- 
ployed by  Nelson  and  other  great  admirals,  endeav- 
oured to  cut  the  Windham  off  from  the  other  two : 
but  the  best  laid  schemes  of  clever  tacticians  some- 
times do  not  fructify :  for  the  Minerve  now  lost  her 
main  and  mizen  topmasts,  and  there  came  a  lull  in 
the  contest,  though  not  for  long.  It  was  now  six 
in  the  evening,  and  the  Bellone,  followed  by  the 
Victor,  began  a  most  destructive  fire  on  the  Wind- 
ham.  Taking  up  her  position  presently  a  little 
farther  on,  the  Bellone  began  to  attack  the  commo- 
dore's ship,  whilst  with  her  foremost  guns  she 
attacked  the  Astell.  The  Victor  was  some  distance 
away,  and  so  her  fire  at  the  Windham  was  not  so 
effective.  Captain  Meriton  now  endeavoured  to 
close  with  the  French  frigate  in  order  that  he  might 
be  able  to  give  full  opportunity  to  the  troops' 
musketry,  but  had  the  misfortune  to  receive  a  severe 
wound  in  the  neck  from  grape-shot.  The  command 
therefore  fell  to  the  chief  mate,  Mr  T.  W.  Oldham. 
But  the  latter,  being  himself  wounded  not  many 
seconds  later,  was  obliged  to  yield  the  command  to 
the  second  mate,  Mr  T.  Penning.  By  seven  o'clock 
the  poor  Ceylon,  which  had  endured  much,  was  in  a 
sorry  plight.  Her  two  principal  officers  had  been 
wounded,  her  masts,  rigging  and  sails  were  all 
damaged  badly,  all  the  guns  on  her  upper  deck  had 
been  disabled  and  five  on  the  lower  deck.  Her  hull, 
too,  had  been  so  badly  holed  that  she  was  leaking 
to  such  an  extent  that  she  made  three  feet  an  hour. 
In  addition,  many  of  her  people  had  been  killed  and 
wounded. 

She  therefore   came  out  of  the   firing-line  and 


326  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

passed  astern  of  the  Bellone,  which  was  engaging 
the  Windham  all  the  time.  And  then  there  appears 
to  have  been  some  misunderstanding.  The  Wind- 
ham  hailed  the  Astell  time  after  time,  asking  her 
to  join  in  making  an  attempt  to  board  the  Bellone  : 
but  the  Astell  put  out  her  lights,  crowded  on  sail,  and 
went  off,  receiving  a  heavy  parting  fire  from  the 
frigate.  As  for  the  Ceylon,  there  was  nothing  left 
for  her  to  do  but  to  haul  down  her  colours,  and  she 
then  had  the  humiliation  of  being  taken  possession 
of  by  a  prize  crew  sent  off  in  a  boat  from  the 
Minerve.  As  the  Ceylon  passed  the  Windham,  the 
former  hailed  the  latter  that  she  had  struck.  The 
Windham  was  therefore  now  left  alone  :  and  since 
she,  too,  was  considerably  damaged  as  to  her  masts 
and  rigging,  so  that  it  was  impossible  to  set  sail,  she 
doggedly  continued  the  action,  so  that  the  Astell 
might  be  able  to  make  good  her  escape.  Nine  of 
the  Windham's  guns  had  been  put  out  of  action, 
many  of  her  crew  had  been  killed  or  wounded,  so 
finally  she  too  had  to  haul  down  her  colours,  and  was 
taken  possession  of  by  the  Bellone.  Meanwhile  the 
Victor  ha'd  gone  in  pursuit  of  the  Astell,  but  the 
latter  was  able  to  get  right  away  owing  to  the  extreme 
darkness  of  the  night  and  the  length  of  time  which 
had  been  taken  in  securing  the  two  prizes. 

The  result  of  this  fight,  which  had  lasted  almost 
from  dawn  till  after  dark,  was  melancholy  :  but  the 
Indiamen  had  fought  very  gallantly,  and  it  is  not 
always  that  success  comes  to  those  who  seem 
assuredly  most  to  deserve  it.  Each  of  these 
merchant  ships  was  of  800  tons,  and  their  armament 
was  quite  unequal  to  that  of  the  French  frigates, 
which  had  no  cargo  to  carry  and  could  mount  more 


PIRATES  AND  FRENCH  FRIGATES        327 

numerous  guns.  There  were  about  two  hundred  and 
fifty  troops  on  board  each  of  these  Indiamen,  in 
addition  to  a  hundred  lascars,  but  there  were  only 
about  twelve  or  a  score  of  British  seamen.  So  in 
respect  of  numbers  the  merchant  ships  were  quite 
inferior  to  the  trained  men-of-war's-men  of  the 
French.  The  Ceylon  lost  four  seamen,  one  lascar 
and  two  soldiers  killed.  Her  captain,  chief  mate, 
seven  of  her  seamen,  one  lascar,  one  lieutenant- 
colonel  and  ten  soldiers  had  been  wounded — a  pretty 
heavy  toll  to  pay.  The  Windham  had  a  seaman, 
three  soldiers  and  two  lascars  killed  :  and  seven 
soldiers,  two  lascars  and  three  of  her  officers  and 
half-a-dozen  others  wounded.  The  Astell  had  four 
seamen  and  the  same  number  of  soldiers  killed  : 
whilst  her  captain,  her  fifth  mate,  nine  seamen,  a 
lascar,  five  cadets  and  twenty  soldiers  were  all 
wounded. 

Everyone  in  these  Indiamen  had  fought  splen- 
didly against  heavy  odds.  The  commodore  had  ful- 
filled his  part  as  well  as  the  difficulty  of  the  situation 
allowed  him.  Soldier  and  sailor  alike  had  done  their 
level  best.  How  did  the  East  India  Company 
eventually  consider  this  forlorn  fight?  It  may  be 
said  at  once  that,  in  spite  of  the  result,  the  directors 
showed  their  appreciation  of  their  servants  by  pre- 
senting each  of  these  three  captains  with  the  sum  of 
^500,  whilst  the  rest  of  the  officers  and  men  were 
also  handsomely  rewarded.  The  captain  of  the 
Astell  received  a  pension  of  ^460  a  year  from  the 
East  India  Company,  whilst  the  officers  and  crew 
were  presented  with  the  sum  of  ^2000  between 
them.  It  is  said  that  one  of  the  AsteWs  seamen,  a 
man  named  Andrew  Peters,  nailed  the  pennant  to 


328  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

the  maintopmast-head  and  was  killed  as  he  was  on 
his  way  down  :  and  the  AsteWs  colours  were  shot 
away  no  fewer  than  three  times. 

To  show  their  appreciation  of  the  AstelVs  fine 
defence  the  Admiralty  granted  the  ship's  company 
protection  from  impressment  for  three  years.  But 
even  all  this  exhibition  of  approbation  must  have 
been  unable  to  wipe  out  from  officers  and  men  the 
miserable  recollection  of  having  been  compelled  to 
yield  to  the  nation's  deadly  enemy. 


CHAPTER  XXIII 

THE  LAST  OF  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

IT  must  not  be  thought  that  even  after  that  momen- 
tous change  of  1834,  when  the  "  free  traders,"  as 
they  were  called,  began  to  send  their  ships  to  India, 
the  Company  were  freer  of  anxiety.  It  has  already 
been  shown  that  they  were  being  badly  defeated  in 
the  new  competition.  But  this  was  not  all.  In  the 
year  1816  the  owners  of  thirty-four  ships  which  had 
been  engaged  by  the  Company  under  the  Act  of 
1799  for  six  voyages  on  a  settled  peace  freight  now 
complained  that  these  rates  were  inadequate  to  meet 
the  increased  charge  of  outfit  and  repairs.  For  since 
the  Treaty  of  Paris  the  cost  and  equipment  of  ships 
had  gone  up,  and  to  an  extent  that  could  not  have 
been  expected.  The  long  duration  of  the  war,  and 
the  extraordinary  price  of  articles  of  a  ship's  inven- 
tory continued  long  after  the  cessation  of  hostilities  : 
and  therefore  it  was  but  natural  that  an  improved 
rate  should  be  granted  for  the  remainder  of  the 
voyages. 

And  with  the  much  larger  number  of  men  required 
for  the  bigger  ships  it  was  frequently  found  when 
lying  in  an  Indian  port  that  with  "  dead,  run,  or  dis- 
charged "  men  a  vessel  had  not  the  required  number 
of  crew  in  her  that  she  ought  to  have.  So  now  these 

329 


330  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

East  Indiamen  were  allowed  to  sail  with  less  than 
their  full  complement.  Great  Britain  had  won  her 
fights  chiefly  on  the  sea,  yet  for  all  that  she  was  not 
abundantly  blessed  with  seamen. 

And  then  came  the  final  change,  which  had  really 
been  foreshadowed  by  that  event  of  1814.  True  the 
East  India  Company  had  been  bereft  of  their 
Indian  monopoly,  but  China  had  been  reserved  to 
them.  However,  in  1832  the  subject  had  to  be  faced 
again  in  Parliament.  The  mind  of  the  public  was 
distinctly  adverse  to  the  Company  and  its  mono- 
poly :  too  long  it  had  been  permitted  to  enjoy  these 
privileges  and  keep  back  the  stream  of  trade.  Dis- 
content increased  both  in  vehemence  and  volume, 
and  so  at  length  the  Company  were  powerless  to 
hold  on  to  thefr  China  monopoly.  Private  ship- 
owners desired  to  trade  with  all  parts  of  the  Orient, 
and  this  desire  had  to  be  met.  From  the  year  1833, 
then,  the  East  India  Company  lost  their  exclusive 
trading  privilege.  And  inasmuch  as  the  free  traders 
had  done  so  much,  and  were  determined  to  do  more, 
it  were  useless  for  the  Company  to  continue  in  com- 
merce at  all.  Instead  they  became  entirely  a  political 
body  and  permitted  British  subjects  to  settle  in 
India.  Actually  the  Company's  commercial  charter 
came  to  an  end  in  April  1834,  and  thereafter  it  pro- 
ceeded to  close  its  business  as  soon  as  possible. 

For  a  Company  that  had  always  relied  for  its 
success  on  protection  from  competition,  paying  high 
prices  for  its  ships,  and  being  squeezed  very  tightly 
by  many  of  its  servants,  it  could  not  be  expected  that 
when  the  free  traders  introduced  their  voyages  to 
China  and  a  strong,  sensible  spirit  of  competition 
that  this  ancient  but  decaying  Company  could  hold 


I 


THE  LAST  OF  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN  331 

its  own.  The  new  blood  would  be  too  vigorous, 
the  enterprise  would  be  irresistible,  and  in  any  case 
the  Company  would  be  doomed  to  further  humility. 
No  other  course,  therefore,  was  possible  than  to  sub- 
mit to  what  had  come  as  the  result  of  the  advance  of 
time.  In  a  word,  that  East  India  Company  which 
had  ruled  the  Eastern  seas  for  so  long  now  resolved 
to  get  rid  of  the  whole  of  their  fleet.  Some  of  these 
were  condemned  and  some  were  bought  up  by  those 
new  aspirants  to  Eastern  wealth.  Some  of  these  old 
"  tea-waggons,"  as  they  were  nicknamed,  were 
broken  up  for  their  valuable  copper  fastenings,  and 
the  rest  were  sold,  not  at  once,  but  after  they  had 
completed  their  voyages  to  India  and  China. 

One  of  the  very  last  of  the  Company's  ships  to 
make  the  voyage  to  China  in  the  employ  of  this 
ancient  corporation  was  the  Elizabeth,  which  sailed 
from  the  Thames  in  the  spring  of  1833,  arrived  in 
China  in  January  1834  and  left  there  in  March. 
From  there  she  proceeded  to  St  Helena,  where  she 
arrived  in  June,  and  then  crossed  the  Atlantic,  arriv- 
ing in  Halifax  the  following  August.  Probably  this 
was  the  very  last  of  the  Company's  ships  to  leave 
China.  I  have  examined  her  log-book  and  have 
been  able  to  verify  the  dates,  but  what  happened 
after  she  reached  Halifax  I  cannot  find  out.  Prob- 
ably she  was  sold  there.  But,  at  any  rate,  there  is  a 
sentimental  interest  attached  to  her  voyage,  and  the 
following  few  abstracts  from  her  log  may  form  a 
connecting  link  with  the  last  voyages  of  a  fleet  whose 
inception  dates  back  to  the  time  when  Elizabeth  was 
on  the  throne. 

The  log  opens  on  23rd  May  1833  with  the  usual 
details  of  getting  the  ship  ready  for  sea  and  taking 


332  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

aboard  cargo  in  the  Thames.  It  ends  on  3rd  Sep- 
tember 1834,  when  the  last  of  the  cargo  had  been 
landed  at  Halifax.  Her  master  was  John  Craigie, 
and,  as  was  the  custom  at  this  time,  the  manuscript 
log-book  is  prefaced  with  a  page  of  black-faced 
print  which  read  as  follows  : — 

c  The  Honourable  Court  of  Directors  of  the 
United  Company  of  Merchants  of  England  trading 
to  the  East  Indies  have  ordered  me  to  send  you  this 
log  book,  in  which  pursuant  to  your  Charter-party, 
you  are  to  take  care  that  a  full,  true,  and  exact 
account  of  the  ship's  run  and  course,  with  the  winds, 
weather  and  her  draught  of  water  at  the  time  of 
leaving  every  port,  and  all  occurrences,  accidents 
and  observations,  that  shall  happen  or  be  made  dur- 
ing the  voyage,  from  the  time  of  the  ship's  first 
taking  in  goods,  until  the  time  of  her  return,  be  duly 
entered  every  day  at  noon,  in  a  fair  and  legible 
manner.  And  that  the  officer  commanding  the  watch 
from  eight  o'clock  till  noon,  do,  before  he  dines, 
sign  his  name  at  length  to  every  day's  log  so 
entered.  .  .  .  " 

This  vessel  drew  17  feet  6  inches  forward  and 
17  feet  4  inches  aft  when  she  left  Gravesend,  and 
after  bringing  up  in  nine  fathoms  off  Margate  rode 
to  forty-eight  fathoms  of  cable  until  she  received 
the  Company's  dispatches  which  she  was  taking  out 
to  the  East.  As  she  proceeded  down  Channel  she 
was  handicapped  by  light  easterly  breezes  and  calms, 
so  that  although  she  passed  Beachy  Head  on  28th 
July,  it  was  not  till  2  P.M.  of  the  following  day  that 
she  was  off  Brighton,  where  she  dropped  her  pilot. 
Six  hours  later  she  had  passed  the  Owers  Lightship 
(off  Selsey  Bill),  and  so  after  leaving  the  Wight 


THE  LAST  OF  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN  333 

made  her  way  past  Portland  Bill  and  out  into  the 
Bay  of  Biscay.  We  need  not  follow  her  throughout 
her  passage,  but  on  Sunday,  6th  October  1833,  she 
was  caught  in  very  bad  weather,  as  the  following 
extracts  show : — 

"3  A.M.  Hard  squalls  attended  with  most 
tremendous  gales.  In  fore  and  mizen  topsails. 
Reef  d  fore  sail  and  close  reefed  main  topsail. 

"  5  A.M.  Heavy  sea  running,  ship  labouring  much. 
Hove  to  under  close  reefed  .  .  .  topsail,  reefed  fore- 
sail .  .  .  staysail  and  fore-topmast  staysail.  Housed 
fore  and  mizzen  topgallantmasts. 

"  Noon.  Hard  gales  and  a  tremendous  sea 
running.  Ship  labouring  much." 

Two  days  later  there  is  this  entry  : 

"  During  the  late  severe  gale  I  find  from  the 
heavy  labouring  of  the  ship  many  seams  in  the  upper 
and  lower  decks  much  opened  and  the  caulking 
worked  out,  and  from  the  great  quantity  of  water 
ship'd  over  all  and  the  ship  requiring  constant  pump- 
ing during  the  above  period,  I  apprehend  consider- 
able damage  is  done  to  the  cargo." 

However,  she  got  safely  across  the  ocean  to 
China,  and  brought  up  on  28th  January  1834  at  her 
port  with  small  bower  anchor  in  seven  fathoms, 
giving  her  thirty-five  fathoms  of  cable  to  ride  to. 
As  the  ship  approaches  her  port  we  see  interesting 
little  details  entered  in  the  log,  such  as  these  :  "  Bent 
larboard  bower  cable  and  unstowed  the  anchor  "  ; 
then  a  little  later  on,  "  bent  starboard  chain  " ;  and 
again,  "  bent  the  sheet  cable."  On  the  i3th  of 
March  she  weighed  anchor,  proceeded  south,  crossed 
the  Indian  Ocean,  as  so  many  of  the  Company's 
ships  had  done  for  over  two  centuries,  rounded  the 


334  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

Cape  of  Good  Hope  and  droppe<d  anchor  off  St 
Helena  on  igth  June  1834,  eventually  arriving  in 
Halifax  harbour  on  i8th  August  1834,  where  she 
proceeded  to  Mr  Cunard's  wharf — Mr  Cunard  was 
the  East  India  Company's  agent,  as  we  have  men- 
tioned— and  thus  brought  her  voyage  to  an  end.  By 
3rd  September  the  whole  of  her  cargo  was  taken  out 
of  her. 

But  already,  long  before  the  East  India  Company 
had  decided  to  sell  their  fleet,  the  death-knell  of 
the  steamship  had  been  sounded  in  the  Orient, 
though  actually  the  decease  was  to  be  preceded 
by  a  wonderful  rally  in  the  famous  China  clippers. 
In  the  year  1822  a  public  meeting  had  been  called 
together  in  London  to  discuss  the  practicability  of 
running  steamships  to  the  East,  and  as  a  result  a 
steam  navigation  company  was  formed.  Lieutenant 
(afterwards  Captain)  J.  Johnson  was  sent  out  to  Cal- 
cutta to  see  what  could  be  done  in  this  respect,  and 
the  outcome  was  that  a  steamship  called  the  Enter- 
prise was  built  at  Deptford  and  proceeded  to  India 
under  the  command  of  this  Captain  Johnson.  She 
was  of  only  470  tons  and  120  nominal  horse-power. 
She  started  on  i6th  August  1825,  and  after  a  voyage 
of  113  days  reached  Calcutta,  though  ten  of  these 
days  were  spent  in  taking  on  board  fuel.  Her  aver- 
age speed  was  only  a  little  under  nine  knots  :  but 
here  was  a  precedent.  She  had  come  all  the  way 
under  steam,  and  some  day  soon  this  speed  would 
be  improved  upon.  Already  in  that  same  year  the 
Falcon,  of  176  tons,  had  also  voyaged  round  the 
Cape  to  Calcutta.  But  this  vessel  was  an  auxiliary 
steamship,  using  partly  steam  and  partly  sails;  so 
the  Enterprise  was  really  the  first  Anglo- Indian 


THE  LAST  OF  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN  335 

steamship.  It  was  not  till  the  year  1842  that  the 
P,  &  O.  Company  started  sending  their  steamers 
to  India  via  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope.  This  was 
another  nail  in  the  coffin  of  the  sailing  ships  which 
had  been  trading  to  the  East  for  so  long  a  time. 
The  name  of  the  first  ship  was  the  Hindostan.  She 
was  a  three-master  with  a  long  bowsprit,  setting 
yards  on  her  foremast  for  foresail,  topsail  and  top- 
gallant sails,  while  her  main  and  mizen  were  fore- 
and-aft-rigged  :  and  before  long  other  steamers 
followed  her. 

But  before  the  Government  built  its  transports 
specially  for  trooping  the  modern  sailing  Indiamen 
— that  is  to  say,  the  successors  of  the  East  India 
Company's  ships — carried  all  the  military  to  the 
East.  Even  when,  in  the  days  before  the  opening 
of  the  Suez  Canal,  the  P.  &  O.  were  the  only  steam- 
ships voyaging  to  India,  most  of  the  passengers  still 
travelled  to  the  Orient  in  the  East  Indiamen,  with 
the  exception  of  the  wealthy  and  the  principal 
officials.  Therefore,  though  the  East  India  Com- 
pany was  dead  as  a  commercial  concern,  those 
private  firms  who  had  bought  up  the  Company's 
ships  or  built  new  ones  were  doing  a  good  business 
both  in  freights  and  passengers. 

Before  the  Suez  Canal  was  opened  there  were 
three  ways  of  reaching  India.  You  could  go  by  a 
sailing  East  Indiaman  round  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope  or  in  a  P.  &  O.  steamship  by  the  same  route, 
or  you  could  go  by  P.  &  O.  steamship  to  Alexandria, 
then  overland  by  camels,  and  then  by  boat  on  the 
Mahmoudieh  Canal  to  the  Nile,  whence  passengers 
proceeded  to  Cairo  by  steamer.  From  there  they 
went  across  the  desert  to  Suez.  Three  thousand 


336  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

camels  had  to  be  employed  for  transporting  a  single 
steamer's  loading,  and  every  package  had  to  be  sub- 
jected to  no  fewer  than  three  separate  transfers.  The 
opening  of  the  Suez  Canal,  therefore,  in  the  year 
1870,  made  all  the  difference  in  the  world,  and  by  the 
end  of  the  next  year  scarcely  any  passengers  went 
round  the  Cape  in  sailing  ships,  but  journeyed  to 
the  East  in  steamships  via  the  canal.  Troops  were 
also  taken  through  the  latter,  and  so  the  old  and  the 
new  East  Indiaman  sailing  ships  passed  out  of 
existence. 

After  April  1834  the  directors  of  the  East  India 
Company  were  not  traders,  but  rather  a  council 
advising  and  assisting  in  the  control  of  the  political 
India.  In  1857  occurred  the  Indian  Mutiny.  The 
martial  races  began  suddenly  to  move,  the  native 
army  of  Bengal  revolted,  and  the  northern  pre- 
datory races  rebelled.  As  everyone  knows,  the 
Mutiny  was  eventually  quelled,  but  for  our  present 
consideration  the  most  important  result  was  that  it 
was  to  bring  to  an  end  the  great  career  of  the  East 
India  Company.  It  was  deemed  best  that  Queen 
Victoria  should  assume  the  direct  government  and 
rule  through  a  Viceroy,  the  first  of  whom  was  Cann- 
ing. On  ist  November  1858  proclamation  was  made 
throughout  India  that  the  government  had  been 
transferred  from  the  East  India  Company  to  the 
British  Sovereign.  The  Board  of  Control  was 
abolished  and  a  Council  of  State  for  India  insti- 
tuted. Thus,  having  ceased  to  be  either  traders 
or  a  political  power,  this  unique  corporation  came  to 
an  end.  It  had  lost  its  prestige,  lost  its  privileges 
and  strength  in  India  and  China,  sold  its  fleet,  and 
at  length,  on  i5th  May  1873,  came  the  resolution 


THE  LAST  OF  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN  337 

to  dissolve  the  Company  altogether,  as  from  ist  June 
1874.  East  India  House,  which  had  been  built  in 
the  year  1726,  enlarged  in  1799,  was  sold  with  its 
furniture  in  the  year  1861  and  pulled  down  in  the 
following  year.  Of  course  there  had  been  a  much 
earlier  East  India  House  in  Leadenhall  Street  also, 
and  the  accompanying  reproduction  of  an  old  print 
shows  the  house  which  stood  from  1648  to  1726. 
The  reader  will  notice  on  the  building  a  picture  of 
a  seventeenth-century  ship. 

By  many  of  the  Indian  natives  the  East  India 
Company  had  been  known  as  the  "  Honourable  John 
Company.5'  The  origin  of  this  designation  is  not  quite 
clear,  but  it  was  in  effect  a  personification  of  the 
corporation  taken  quite  seriously  by  the  natives. 
John  he  knew  as  a  man's  name,  for  was  not  his 
English  master  called  John?  Naturally  enough, 
therefore,  the  Company  might  also  be  called  the 
'  John  "  or  "  Honourable  John."  The  idea  im- 
printed in  the  native's  mind  was  that  the  Company 
was  one  mighty  prince,  who  had  to  be  respected. 

But  before  we  close  this  chapter  we  want  to  know 
what  became  of  the  ships  and  men.  If  the  Com- 
pany had  come  to  an  end  the  East  Indiamen  and 
those  who  used  to  work  her  across  the  ocean  were 
not  ipso  facto  wiped  out  of  existence.  Some  of  the 
ships  fetched  quite  good  prices,  considering  that  the 
sale  was  virtually  compulsory.  The  Earl  of  Bal- 
carres,  for  instance,  that  big  ship  of  which  we  spoke 
on  a  previous  page,  fetched  the  sum  of  ;£  10,700, 
and  she  sailed  the  seas  for  fifty-two  years  before 
being  turned  into  a  hulk.  The  Lady  Melville  also 
was  sold  for  ;£  10,000;  that  fine,  handsome  ship,  the 
Thames,  of  which  we  have  given  an  illustration, 

Y 


338  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

obtaining  ,£10,700  as  her  price.  The  Buckingham- 
shire fetched  ,£10,550;  the  General  Kyd,  ,£9100; 
the  Asia,  ,£6500,  whilst  other  ships  fetched  sums 
from  about  ^4500  upwards.  Of  those  sold  for 
breaking  up  were  the  Waterloo,  which  fetched  about 
£72001  the  Atlas,  ^4100;  the  Canning,  ^5750; 
the  Princess  Charlotte,  ^3000;  the  London,  ^5900; 
General  Harris,  ;£66oo;  Farquharson,  £6000.  Of 
course,  not  all  these  were  sold  at  the  same  time. 
In  some  cases,  the  Company  having  foreseen  the 
inevitable,  began  to  sell  as  far  back  as  1830,  and 
they  went  on  selling  until  the  end  of  1834.  Those 
shipowners  who  were  out  looking  for  bargains  knew 
that  these  vessels  would  not  fetch  the  highest  prices, 
yet  they  were  known  to  be  soundly  put  together  of 
first-class  material.  The  best  prices  were  obtained 
by  the  Company,  not  in  auction,  but  privately. 
Among  the  buyers  one  finds  such  well-known  ship- 
ping names  as  Joseph  Somes,  Wigram  &  Green. 
The  former  was  one  of  the  founders  of  Lloyd's 
Register.  Robert  Wigram  and  Richard  Green  built 
and  owned  some  of  the  finest  sailing  ships  which 
ever  floated  in  the  Thames,  and  these  men,  together 
with  the  Smiths  of  Newcastle  and  other  shipowners, 
began  to  construct  more  modern  frigate  type  of 
ships  for  the  China  and  India  trade  now  that  all 
privileges  had  been  thrown  on  one  side.  These 
ships  used  to  snug  down  at  night  like  their  pre- 
decessors when  crossing  the  sea.  But  they  were  run 
commercially  on  more  sensible  lines,  and  the  extra- 
vagant privileges  to  the  captains  were  largely 
curtailed. 

And  inasmuch  as  many  of  the  captains,  officers 
and  crew  who  had  served  in  the  East  India  Com- 


THE  LAST  OF  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN  339 

pany's  craft  were  now  employed  in  the  ships  of  the 
new  firms  there  was  not  such  a  vast  change  in  the 
conditions  as  might  have  been  imagined.  Gone  was 
the  stately  dignity,  gone  the  semi-naval  character  of 
the  East  Indiamen,  but  in  most  other  respects 
matters  were  much  the  same.  Gradually  as  the 
newer  types  of  ships  began  to  be  built,  improved 
models  were  effected  with  finer  lines,  and  the  old 
kettle-bottom  type  of  the  Company's  ships  gave 
place  to  that  which  was  to  become  historic  as  the 
China  tea-clippers  of  1850  to  1870.  With  these, 
however,  our  present  story  has  no  concern.  But  it 
was  a  long  time  before  the  main  traditions  of  the 
East  India  Company  died  entirely.  Frigate-fashion 
had  been  the  motto  of  the  shipbuilder  for  too  long 
for  this  to  be  thrown  over  at  once.  The  Blenheim 
and  the  Marlborough,  for  instance,  which  came  out 
in  1848,  were  constructed  exactly  like  the  contem- 
porary naval  frigates  :  in  design  and  scantlings  they 
were  identical  with  a  4O-gun  ship  of  that  class,  the 
Government  surveying  them  and  reporting  them  as 
fit  to  carry  armaments.  These  two  ships  had  been 
built  by  Messrs  T.  &  W.  Smith  of  Newcastle-on- 
Tyne.  They  carried  enormous  jibbooms  "  steeved  J- 
very  high.  With  their  overhanging  stern,  figure- 
head, row  of  square  ports,  stuns'ls,  and  dolphin- 
striker  they  were  very  picturesque  craft.  As  regards 
speed  these  were  an  improvement  on  the  ships  pos- 
sessed by  the  East  India  Company,  and  represent 
the  intermediate  stage  between  the  latter  and  the 
famous  China  clippers  which  were  to  come  in  a  few 
years'  time.  The  new  type  of  East  Indiaman, 
frigate-built  and  copper  fastened,  cost  about  ^40 
a  ton  to  build,  so  that  a  icoo-ton  ship  cost  about 


340  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

,£40,000.  The  ships  of  Messrs  Wigram  &  Green 
were  not  pierced  for  guns,  the  square  windows  in 
these  vessels  at  the  poop  being  used  for  lighting 
the  passengers'  cabins.  These  were  ships  of  finer 
lines  than  the  old  East  Indiamen  or  even  the  vessels 
which  Smith  built.  Duncan  Dunbar  also  owned  a 
number  of  fine  East  Indiamen;  in  fact,  he  became 
at  one  time  the  largest  shipowner  in  Great  Britain, 
and  many  of  his  vessels  were  constructed  in  India, 
as,  for  instance,  the  Marion,  of  684  tons,  which  was 
launched  at  Calcutta  in  1834,  and  from  that  'date 
sailed  the  seas  until  she  was  wrecked  off  Newfound- 
land nearly  fifty  years  later.  But  even  before  the 
East  India  Company  lost  their  China  monopoly  they 
possessed  a  very  few  ships  whose  speed  was  just 
about  as  good  as  any  of  the  more  modern  successors 
until  the  coming  of  the  first  tea-clippers  of  about 
1840  onwards.  The  East  Indiaman  Thames,  of 
which  we  give  an  illustration,  was  certainly  one  of 
the  fastest. 

At  the  time  when  the  East  India  Company  lost 
their  China  charter  and  sold  off  their  fleet,  the  com- 
manders and  officers  considered  themselves  very 
much  aggrieved.  It  is  quite  true,  as  we  have  stated, 
that  a  good  many  of  them  afterwards  shipped  on 
board  the  modern  East  Indiamen,  who,  of  course, 
did  not  fly  the  naval  pennant  which  the  Company's 
ships  had  been  allowed  to  wear.  But  these  officers, 
in  July  1834,  banded  together  and  sent  a  letter  to  the 
(directors  of  the  East  India  Company,  in  which  it 
was  pointed  out  that  the  Company's  ships  and  sea- 
men— otherwise  known  as  the  Maritime  Service  in 
contrast  with  the  Bombay  Marine  or  East  India 
Company's  navy — had  been  employed  for  over  two 


THE  LAST  OF  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN  841 

hundred  years.  These  ships  and  men  had  been 
instrumental  to  a  great  degree  in  securing  the  vast 
territory  of  British  India.  These  commanders  and 
officers  of  the  present  day  had  entered  the  Com- 
pany's service  in  the  confident  expectation  that  it 
was  a  provision  for  life.  But  now  they  found  them- 
selves deprived  of  their  profession  owing  to  the 
sudden  ceasing  of  the  Company's  trade.  Although 
the  commanders  and  officers  were  in  the  first  instance 
recommended  by  the  shipowners  to  the  Company, 
yet  the  latter  examined  and  approved  them,  and  into 
the  latter's  service  they  were  sworn.  They  were 
paid,  fined,  suspended  or  dismissed  by  the  Company 
— and  not  by  the  owners.  They  wore  the  Company's 
uniform,  enjoyed  rank  and  command  under  the 
latter,  and  became  eligible  to  offices  of  high  honour 
and  emolument.  And  the  extraordinary  fact  was 
that  they  even  took  precedence  of  the  Company's 
Bombay  Marine.  These  maritime  commanders 
ranked  with  the  field  officers  in  India,  were  saluted 
with  guns,  and  were  eligible  for  important  offices 
of  profit  in  India. 

The  position  now  was  therefore  not  one  which 
seemed  to  have  a  bright  outlook.  They  had  served 
in  capacities  of  great  trust,  and  many  of  them  had 
devoted  the  whole  of  their  lives  to  service  in  the 
Company's  ships.  But  when  the  "  free  traders  " 
now  came  on  to  the  scene  the  latter  did  not  care  to 
employ  captains  and  officers  who  had  been  accus- 
tomed to  navigate  only  vessels  of  the  size  and 
expensive  equipment  of  those  of  the  East  India 
Company.  Only  one-fifth  of  these  men  were  there- 
fore at  once  taken  over  by  the  shipowners,  who  were 
now  buying  up  the  Company's  ships  or  building  new 


342  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN 

ones.  As  for  the  rest  of  these  officers  they  had 
enjoyed  the  dignity  and  privileges  of  the  Company 
for  so  long  a  period  that  they  did  not  care  to  be 
employed  in  "  free  trade/5  considering  it  derogatory. 
In  any  case  they  could  not  obtain,  from  the  new 
owners,  the  same  amount  of  remuneration  as  they 
had  been  accustomed  to  receive  from  the  Company. 
For  the  latter's  extravagant  methods  were  to  give 
place  to  a  more  business-like  method.  In  plain 
language,  the  rest  of  the  merchant  service  rather 
fought  shy  of  employing  these  former  East  India- 
men  skippers,  and  the  latter  were  not  anxious  to 
degrade  themselves  by  signing  on  in  these  inter- 
lopers. 

So  the  captains  and  officers  appealed  to  the  East 
India  Company  for  compensation  in  the  shape  of 
pensions.  The  petition  was  received  with  little 
enthusiasm,  but  the  directors  could  not  deny  that 
there  was  a  good  deal  of  truth  in  what  was  set 
forth  by  these  men,  and  ultimately  decided  to  grant 
compensation  to  all  commanders  and  officers  who 
had  been  actually  employed  in  the  Maritime  Service 
for  five  years  on  22nd  April  1834.  Thus  a  com- 
mander received  a  monetary  payment  of  ^1500, 
with  lesser  sums  for  the  other  officers.  In  addition 
to  this,  each  commander  received  ^"4000  for  three 
unexpired  voyages,  ,£3000  for  two  voyages  and 
^2000  for  one  voyage  which  they  would  have  made 
had  they  continued  in  the  service.  Besides  these 
sums,  commanders  who  had  served  for  ten  years 
were  granted  a  pension  for  life  of  ^250  a  year,  the 
chief  mate  receiving  a  pension  of  £  160,  and  so  on 
down  to  the  carpenter  and  gunner.  The  condition 
being  that  these  men  assured  the  Company  of  their 


THE  LAST  OF  THE  OLD  EAST  INDIAMEN  343 

inability  to  obtain  further  employment,  and  that  any 
income  which  they  possessed  was  to  be  in  abatement 
of  these  pensions. 

Thus,  at  last,  the  historic  East  India  Company 
came  to  an  end,  its  ships  and  men  scattered  or 
employed  by  other  owners.  No  company  in  the 
world,  no  fleet  of  mercantile  vessels  can  boast  of 
such  a  long  and  adventurous  story  as  this  :  no  ships 
of  commerce  were  so  closely  and  continuously  con- 
cerned in  establishing  political  power  in  the  East. 
For  this  reason  the  old  East  Indiamen  sailing  ships, 
whether  of  the  seventeenth,  eighteenth  or  nineteenth 
centuries,  must  always  possess  a  unique  interest  for 
Britons  generally,  for  Anglo-Indians  in  particular, 
and  for  all  who  take  an  interest  in  the  world's 
development.  People  ordinarily  do  not  realise  the 
full  extent  of  their  indebtedness  to  the  ships  and 
sailors  of  the  past  in  respect  of  discovery,  empire, 
power  and  wealth.  Such  men  as  worked  the  vessels 
which  we  have  been  considering  in  this  volume  were 
very  far  from  perfect  in  respect  of  many  virtues. 
But  they  are  deserving  of  our  great  respect  and 
admiration  for  their  pluck,  their  endurance  and  their 
enterprise  :  for  without  them  India  would  have  been 
the  possession  of  some  other  European  nation. 


TUB   RIVERSIDE   PRESS   LIMITED,   EDINBURGH 


YC  05714 


S -  2221 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


